Both Sides
by grottofied
Summary: What is darkness but the absence of light? So who is this strange girl who seems to be on both sides of the constant war between light and dark? She knows what will happen, and yet does nothing to help. Who is Yani?
1. Beginning

_Prologue_

_Namikaze Minato ran desperately through the forest, the sounds of the raging battle ringing through the air. Even as he ran, various knives flew around his head, grazing is cheek. His head whipped around desperately, his eyes frantic. He was looking for the one thing that could keep save his team, the guardian of the wild. The various cuts and wounds all over his body slowly drained him of his energy. He feared he would never find her, or worse, she didn't exist. _

_He ran urgently through the forest bounding across clearings and jumping from tree branch to tree branch. But suddenly, he found a pack of wolves running swiftly, exactly what he was looking for. Changing his direction, he pursued after the wolves, all the while, the sounds of the battle becoming softer. Soon enough, all he could hear was his own labored breathing and loud footfalls. Overhead, the green tree leaves created a thick canopy, occasionally filtering green light. _

_But these wolves were fast, faster than normal wolves. He barely kept up with them. The leader of the wolves, the most graceful one, the one with odd golden streaks in its dark fur, looked back at him and then turned forward, still running. It increased its pace until Minato was loosing sight of the pack. Gritting his teeth, he forced his tired legs to keep moving, reminding himself that his team was in danger if he failed. Finally, they reached a clearing and the wolves formed a semicircle with the leader in the middle, facing Minato. Then abruptly, with a split second flash of light, the leader changed into a girl. She was striking beyond all description, as beautiful as the forest with hair that was clearly as black as night and yet had shades of brown, dark red, gold, and yellow in the sun. She stood as a wolf would stand, alert and wary. _

_ "Go ahead, human. Howl me your dreams," she said, her voice like the wind in the top of the trees. _

_ "Please help my team!" he begged urgently, his consciousness slipping away, "They're dying!"_

_ "And what will you give for me?" Her eyes were a sharp light blue. Their look seemed to contain the look of a cold, calculated anger. _

_ He thought frantically for something to give her._

_ "Kinship! My wild sister, please…" he collapsed to the ground, almost dead. The girl smiled at the human and her eyes changed from cold ice blue to black with golden dots strewn across her eyes. He did not offer money. He did not offer himself. He offered kinship. Such a strange human… _

_ "Granted" she said and glided over to Minato and sat down next to him. Then, taking a kunai out of his pocket, she looked around her, searching for something, her eyes darting rapidly. Her eyes settled on Minato's chest and slowly traveled towards herself. When her eyes finally reached her own wrist, she smiled. Suddenly, she slashed herself deep with the kunai in her hand. Liquid akin to melted gold poured out from the wound and into Minato's mouth, which she held open. Afterwards, she put a hand on his chest and sang a complicated, yet simple, melody, so heartbreaking that the trees around her sighed and shed amber tears. Minato's body slowly started to heal, fixing all the lacerations in his skin. Then she turned and barked a sharp order to the wolves behind her. They all leapt up and ran towards the battle, leaving her to wait for Minato to wake up._

_ The other ninja's in the field could not believe what they saw. Kakashi, Obito, and Ren, all bone-tired from fighting, looked up to see a pack of twenty wolves rapidly killing one enemy after the other. With screams of rage, the enemies fought back, throwing kunais. It was hopeless of course. The wolves were far nimbler and quicker than the ninjas and disappeared and reappeared as if they were smoke. Within half an hour the opposing side was dead. After the battle, the wolves regrouped and trotted off towards the forest. _

_ "Where's sensei?" Ren voiced looking around her. Obito sat on the ground, trembling from exhaustion. But Kakashi looked up his eyes widening, his nose twitching._

_ "Quickly! Bow!" he hissed and promptly kneeled to the floor. Both Ren and Obito, looked bewildered, copied Kakashi._

_ "Why?" Obito whispered conscious that they were bowing to nothing._

_ "That scent…" Kakashi inhaled, "Can't you smell it?" He shivered. The sea, the forest, the mountains, wolves, the _wild_, all rolled into one smell. Authority. The alpha female…_

_ "Your master is fine" a voice called out, like the wind in the tops of trees, "Rise and step forward." The three rose, strangely soothed, and walked to the forest. They immediately stopped at the sight of Minato lying on the forest floor with a stunning girl crouched next to him. Her eyes were black with gold sparks. _

_ "Here," she smiled, her eyes laughing, "Take your master. I will visit shortly to find if he's doing well or not" And with a shower of gold dust, she disappeared._

_Prologue Continued. _

_ The Nine Tailed Fox raged outside, completely destroying Konoha. _

_ "I'm going" Minato said, tight lipped. He turned to the sixteen year old girl in the corner. "Coming?" he said, not as a request but simply a question. _

_ "The gods will not allow it," she answered, her eyes an ice blue once more. "You know I would though." Minato nodded, and walked over to his kin, and hugged her briskly. Finally, he let go and ruffled her hair._

_ "Promise me you'll take care of Naruto," he pleaded. She nodded. _

_ "I promise" Just like that, he turned, kissed his wife, and disappeared. After he had left, his wife started to cry and the girl held her, just as Minato had held her. But suddenly, his wife tore across the floor after him. _

There will be a sacrifice tonight_, the gods' voices swirled around the girl._ Watch over the Coming One. _The girl nodded once and walked out to watch the battle._


	2. Negotiations

Chapter 1

The Third Hokage contemplated on the issue.

"Yes, yes do that. Go get her to protect the boy," he finally agreed. Kakashi bowed, his silver hair flashing in the light, and went out the door to the surrounding forests. Walking along the path emblazoned in his mind because of that fateful day, he went to go visit the girl. He picked his way through the thicket until the trees started to get even closer together. Slowly, the sound diminished and he was careful to be quiet, his breathing already hushed because of the mask constantly covering half of his face. The eye that wasn't covered by a forehead protector, darted around, looking for the trail. Not rushing, he squeezed in between two tree trunks and stepped into a clearing.

The sixteen year old girl stood in the middle of the meadow, watching two baby wolves wrestle with each other. They snapped and bit at each other, trying to establish which was the more dominant. There was a silence as they both watched the wolves wiggle and squirm.

"Go ahead, human. Howl me your dreams," she said, without even turning around to Kakashi. Her voice filled the clearing like a breeze, calm and everywhere.

"Yani…" Kakashi stretched out his hand. The girl stiffened and turned around, her hazel eyes stretched wide in surprise.

"Kakashi?" Suddenly, as her eyes changed to black speckled with gold, and she launched herself at Kakashi hugging him, squeezing him, laughing and shouting. Kakashi, momentarily surprised, quickly regained his composure and smiled.

"You remember me, Yani?" he murmured quietly into her hair, hugging her back.

"Of course!" she laughed. She nestled her head into his neck and inhaled. "You smell the same," she said quietly. Kakashi hesitated and then went directly to the point.

"Come back to the village" Kakashi said, "And watch Naruto." Her eyes narrowed.

"I don't want live around the people in the village. I don't like it there. Too many people." She looked away.

"Please. Naruto is on my team. And I can't watch him as well as you do"

"I watch him here" she retorted.

"Could be much better up close," he said mildly. She scowled.

"You owe me remember?" he said trying to keep his voice steeled. Yani flinched and withdrew a step; her eyes reverting back to ice blue.

_ "Yani! Please help him"_

_ "I can't! The gods won't allow it"_

_ "Yani!"_

_ "They don't want me to save him!" _

"_Fuck the gods!" Kakashi rushed back to Obito leaving Yani, ice eyed and crying. Obito's scream of pain pierced the air, while Ren and Kakashi tried to save him. With half of his body trapped under a rock, he was slowly losing consciousness. Kakashi whirled around._

_ "I hate you!"_

That had been the last time Kakashi had seen her. He hadn't had time or the courage to search for her after that. But undeniably, he had missed her.

"Please come back" his voice softer, "I've missed you too." He put one hand on her face and wrapped the other arm around her waist. "Please." Yani leaned into him, closing the space between them but didn't respond. Gently lifting her head, he brushed his lips covered by the mask across Yani's mouth.

"Please?" he murmured again, the cloth muffling his words. Once again, he leaned forward and pressed his mouth to hers.

"Fine," she reluctantly agreed, sighing as Kakashi hooked his arm around her shoulder. They walked towards the village, talking about what happened while they had been apart.


	3. Discovery

Chapter 2

The room erupted in noise.

"Naruto!" Sakura and Ino yelled the loudest of the girls that surrounded Sasuke. Sasuke wiped his mouth as Naruto made gagging noise.

"I got pushed!" Naruto said to the enraged Sasuke-loving girls, "I didn't mean to kiss him!"

Several punches later, a much bruised Naruto sulked in his seat while Sasuke, his composure restored, ignored the drooling girls around him. The noise level in the room returned to normal when abruptly, the noise stopped near the doorway. This created a domino effect of people turning around to see what happened and then in turn, gaping at the sixteen year old girl that walked in. Finally, Naruto, Sasuke, and the rest of the girls crowding around Sasuke, turned and stared, wide eyed, at the dazzling girl that just floated in. She stopped and, after a moment, smirked. The smell of the sea and pine trees filled the room as she walked in. She drifted across the room, opened the window, and held her hand out the window. A hawk landed on her outstretched arm and screeched. Two wolves jumped in from the same open window and settled by her side. She smiled briefly, the sun lighting up her face and making the gold sparks in her eyes dance. After staring agape at the girl for a minute, the instructors called the first teams to go.

Finally, the only people that were left were Naruto, Sasuke, Sakura, and the girl. When everybody had left, the girl looked curiously at the people left in the room.

"Who's Naruto?" she asked after a moment of silence.

"Me" Naruto replied, looking up from the eraser trap he was setting for the late sensei.

She looked at him as he scrambled down from the chair and sat down. Sasuke looked at the trap and grimaced.

_Why would a ninja ever fall for that?_ Sasuke thought, disgusted.

_Why is that new girl so pretty? Is she even a student? IS SHE GOING TO STEAL SASUKE FROM ME? _Sakura's thoughts whirled around her head. _But she doesn't even look interested in Sasuke… I wonder how old she is…_

"Uhhh… new girl?" The girl turned, her eyes black with gold flecks.

"My name is Yani" she smiled.

"Oh, okay… Y-Yani." Sakura felt drawn in by that bewitching smile, "How old are you?"

"How old do I look?"

"Old" Naruto interrupted, peering closely at her.

"NARUTO, YOU IDIOT! YOU DON'T TALK WAY THAT TO A GIRL!"

"No, he's right." Yani stated and quickly hesitated, "I'm sixteen. How old are you guys?"

"Twelve," Naruto and Sakura replied at the same time. Sasuke did not bother to answer, avoiding all sort of interacting. Just then Kakashi walked into the room, triggering the eraser trap. The eraser hit him on the head with a light thud, scattering chalk dust everywhere. Sasuke flinched in disgust.

"My first impression of you guys," Kakashi said cheerfully, "you're a bunch of idiots.

"Naruto, why don't you start?" The students all looked at Kakashi with annoyed faces. They were introducing themselves but they were frustrated by the fact that Kakashi had barely said anything significant about himself. One by one the students went until it was Yani's turn.

"Yani?" Kakashi prompted, looking at her from the corner of his eye, "Why don't you introduce yourself."

She was standing on a rail, away from the rest on the roof. The wind gently ruffled her straight black hair and made the leaves dance across the azure sky. Her balance seemed perfect as she walked along the rail to beside Kakashi, where he was leaning. Crouching down on the rail, she faced the group.

"I have many names, but you can call me Yani." A bird perched on her shoulder as she continued to talk. "I was raised by wolves. I like hugs, and kisses, and boyfriends, and secrets. I like people who don't get jealous and who understand me. I love all my wolves. I dislike humans. I dislike metal. I dislike non-natural things. I dislike punishments. My hobbies include traveling, running, and visiting my brothers on Mount Ol—" Kakashi growled, quietly, low in his throat so that the students wouldn't hear. The bird on her shoulder sang a warning note.

"You humans and your lies" Yani laughed, amazed. "Fine, that's it."

_Woah! She's pretty! _Naruto drooled in his head.

_I hope she doesn't try to steal Sasuke from me…_ Sakura worried in her head.

_How shallow_, Sasuke thought, radiating contempt.

"Well, come on guys," Kakashi said half-heartedly, "let's go eat." The five of them moved down the road to the village to a popular ramen stand.

"Hi!" Naruto to exclaimed to the owner. As each of them ducked under the low metal overhanging, they heard a resounding crash shake the small shop.

"Are you okay, Yani?" Kakashi had caught her just before she had hit the floor after bashing her head into the overhanging.

"Damn the stupid metal," she murmured as Kakashi helped her up. Kakashi smiled and ran his fingers through her hair.

"Sensei!" Naruto exclaimed, "is… is… Yani your girlfriend?"

"Yeah, sensei!" Sakura followed, indignantly curious, "I don't think it's a good thing if you have a deep relationship going on in your team and try to teach us at the same time! Showing emotion is against the ninja code!" Kakashi looked at Yani and shrugged his shoulders.

"It's none of your business," he replied serenely. "Besides, she will prove to be a valuable asset in our missions."

"WHAT DO YOU MEAN IT'S NONE OF OUR BUSINESS?" Naruto yelled.

Sasuke watched Yani as Naruto's and Kakashi's voices arguing about the relationship drifted through the clearing. He was just watching the facial expressions racing across her face when he noticed something strange. The way she held her body and the fact that she never looked at the ground was odd. He noted how her eyes flickered from color to color, depending on… what? But just before he realized exactly what all these things led to, Kakashi called them to go. Sasuke almost growled in frustration. He had lost it, that small burst of idea.

_Whatever_, he thought, _it'll come back later._

"Thanks Kakashi-sensei! That was good!" Naruto said contentedly, burping.

"Ewwww, Naruto! That's gross," Sakura squealed, punching Naruto across the face. When Naruto emerged from the bushes, nursing his sore cheek, Sakura turned to Sasuke.

"So… Sasuke… ummm… would you like t-to come over and h-hang out?" Her voice wavered.

"No," Sasuke replied curtly and kept walking down the road.

"Oh, o-okay! Yeah! I'm busy, too!" Sakura blushed heavily as a sad look came over her face.

"Hey, Sakura! I would love to hang out!" Naruto said, excited. Three seconds later, his other cheek was bruised. When the road came to an intersection, Naruto and Sakura said goodbye and both turned left. When Yani noticed that only Sasuke was walking straight ahead, she stopped. Tapping on Kakashi's shoulder, she pointed to the retreating form of Sasuke. He nodded and kissed her quietly on the cheek.

"Go get some rest soon," he said and teleported away with a puff of smoke.

Sasuke heard trotting feet and turned around to see who it was.

"You live down here, too?" he asked Yani, who had caught up to him.

"No, but I don't want you to walk alone," Yani said, adjusting her belt. The black shorts and black shirt she was wearing shimmered in the fading sunlight and accented her lean frame.

"I could take care of any muggers," Sasuke shot back and turned around again.

"Muggers aren't the only dangerous things in the dark, Sasuke." For some reason, the statement gave him an uneasy feeling and he hastened his steps, though Yani easily kept up. They walked in silence for a while, the sun finally setting and revealing the vast expanse of stars in the sky.

"Can I ask you something?" Sasuke said some time later. He looked up to see Yani's face, which was a good head above him.

"Go ahead. I'll answer if I can."

Sasuke hesitated, and then started to speak.

"I was watching you today and I noticed something about you. Like how you hold your body and never look at the ground. And also how your eyes changed from color to color… Are you… blind?" Yani's eyes widened and in the dim light, Sasuke could see they changed to a hazel color.

"See?" Sasuke said and stopped walking, "So are you?" Sasuke stared at the ground, waiting for Yani to speak. After Yani recovered from her surprise, she turned to him.

"You… are the second human to ever notice… Is that it?" Sasuke shook his head.

"I still don't know a lot of things, although I don't like to admit it. I want to know how you walk without seeing. Or why you don't help when we fight robber and pick-pockets. And how do you—" Sasuke froze when Yani patted his head, absent-mindedly.

"Don't worry about it. Come on, let's go." She held out her hand and tentatively, Sasuke put his hand into hers. Hand in hand, the walked the rest of the way in silence, arriving at Sasuke's home just before nine.

"Can… I call you Onee-san?" Sasuke asked quietly at the door, before he went in.

"Call me whatever you want," Yani responded, and then smiled.

"Then, goodnight… Onee-san. Thanks for walking me home." He was just about to close the door when Yani took a step forward.

"Wait." Before Sasuke could react, she took another step forward and kissed his cheek.

"What are you- ?" Suddenly, he felt a heavy burden lift from his shoulders and mind, a burden he was so used to, that he didn't even know he carried it. He took a sharp breath and everything became clearer, brighter.

"There, is that better?" she asked quietly, looking at him with a sad expression in her eyes. He was still too shocked to answer. "I'm sorry, but the burden will come back sooner or later." She hesitated to say something but then continued. "Your brother… he… he really loves-"

"If you're going to say he loves me, you're wrong. He hates me and I hate him. He lied to me his whole life about his loving me. He killed my entire family! I loved him and then he… he…" Sasuke tried to get his breathing back to normal but it seemed like he couldn't get enough of the light, burden-free air. His thoughts swirled in his head, adding to the confusion he felt inside himself. He blinked rapidly, trying to hold back tears. Yani looked at him, then reached out, gently smearing a tear that escaped down his cheek, and pushed the bangs out of his eyes.

"Why don't you go to sleep? I don't think you had good dreams in a while." Sasuke nodded and retreated into his house and into his bedroom, lying down on his bed to face the vast expanse of star strewn sky out his window.

_Just like her eyes,_he thought before he shut down. _Black with gold._


	4. Observations

Chapter 3

"NO! SASUKE!" Sakura screamed and threw herself on the motionless boy lying on the floor. "YOU CAN'T DIE! YOU CAN'T, YOU CAN'T!"

"You idiot…" Naruto muttered, "Who told you to save me?" A tear traced down his cheek and he wiped it away soundlessly. "WAKE UP, IDIOT!"

"Hush, both of you." Both of the young ninjas instantly stopped. They had never heard Yani speak in that tone of voice. Crouching, Yani put a hand on Sasuke's chest and stopped moving, as if looking for something. Slowly, her eyes traveled from Sasuke to Sakura.

"Sakura, I need you to take you kunai and cut my wrist." Sakura flinched and then nodded. Taking the weapon out of her pouch, she slashed Yani's out held wrist. Yani bit her lip as the cold metal pierced her skin, but instead of blood pouring out, something that looked like liquid gold dripped out. Yani held her wrist over Sasuke's mouth as the gold blood dripped into his throat. When the flow ceased, she placed her hands on his chest and started to hum a soft, lulling tune.

It seemed like time stopped around them. A vast stillness fell like a blanket over the area. Even the lapping of water quieted. Suddenly, a blue light surrounded Sasuke and lifted him slightly off the ground. Slowly, the metal needles piercing his body pulled out and clinked onto the bloodstained earth. The puncture wounds and other lacerations started to fade. As quickly as it had begun, the blue light stopped, dropping Sasuke on the pavement. When he did not stir, Sakura launched herself at him and continued to cry.

"Sakura…? You're heavy…" Sasuke said at the sobbing figure draped over him. Sakura looked up rapidly.

"Sasuke!" Sakura started to squeeze his waist in relief as Yani rose and walked away.

It was snowing when Kakshi laid a broken Zabuza next to an equally broken Haku. Yani leaned against Kakashi, both silently looking at the two criminals lying so peacefully next to each other, who still managed to love each other despite their criminal life.

"Kakashi?" He turned his head slightly to her direction. "I think… I think this is the last mission for me. It… it… hurts… over here…" Yani clutched at her own chest and gripped her shirt. Kakashi sighed, and then stiffened at the sight of her eyes. They were pure black, not a night black, but a deep, dark, lightless black. A black that told of countless of deaths and tiredness and despair. A black that haunted the eyes men long dead on the battlefield. Kakashi nodded and took her hand gently from her heart and put it to his lips. He inhaled deeply, drawing in the scent of her palm as she held her hand to the curve of his face, trying to get the smell of blood out of his head. All of a sudden, she started to cry silent tears that stole quietly down her cheeks. When they hit the ground, they pinged and turned into black pearls.

"Yani…" Kakashi wound his arm around her waist and pulled her closer. She resisted at first but then slowly gave in and became limp in his arms.

"Don't worry. It is the last mission for you."

"Eh?" Kakashi mumbled as he felt Yani lift his blankets and snuggle in next to him. She wound her arms around his waist, laying her head on his shoulder. He cracked open one eye, saw her white shoulder, and sighed.

"Yani, if someone finds us in bed like this while you're wearing only a tank top and underwear, they're going to have some suspicions." Yani just wiggled closer to him.

"You know I hate clothes. And you're the only one who doesn't try to rape me if I wear this." She trailed a hand down his lean chest onto his hard stomach. Sighing again, he gently closed his hand over her small ones, stopping them in the process.

"You can stop testing me," he said quietly, "I will never try to take advantage of you. I actually stopped being turned on by anything you do."

"That's a mean thing to say to a girl." Her voice wavered.

"I know you were taken advantage of, Yani. Several times. You told me yourself and I know you enough." She covered his mouth with her hand, no mask to stop her from coming in contact with his lips. He removed her hand. "But I never will," he continued. "You said I didn't fit the requirements for being your soul mate. That's fine. I'm content in being someone you can love and be comforted by until you find the right person."

"Stop being such a pushover," Yani snarled and twitched her nose twice. Kakashi automatically picked up on the wolf language. [You're so annoying] she said.

"Heh," he chuckled and clicked his teeth together. [If you say so.] Unhindered by his mask, he leaned down and licked her lips. When she opened her mouth, he slipped his tongue in, kissing her until they both ran out of breath.

"Sasuke might start to fall in love with you soon if you act like that," he said mildly after awhile. Yani growled and lightly bit his throat, licking it afterwards. [He's not my type. Besides, he's shorter than me. You know how much I like tall guys.] Kakashi smiled.

"If you fall for him, I'd be fine with that, too."

"You are such a pushover."

"Nah, just so much in love that I care more about your happiness than my happiness." Yani was quiet for some time.

"I'm sorry you weren't the right one," she whispered at last.

"Did you want me to be?"

"Yes."

"Then that's good enough."

"Ready to go?" Kakashi asked Team 7, already absorbed in one of his ever-present erotica novels.

"Yeah!" Naruto shouted, already excited, "After such a hard mission with Zabuza, this mission should be a piece of cake!"

"Stop being so cocky, Naruto! You didn't improve much, after all," Sakura said bossily, then blushed heavily. "Sasuke on the other hand…"

"Are you kidding me? Sasuke didn't improve half as much as I did!" Naruto snorted. He then looked around and yawned. "Who are we waiting for Sensei?"

"For you guys to stop fighting," Kakashi replied calmly. Both of them stopped bickering and then joined against Kakashi.

"WHAT DO YOU MEAN YOU'RE WAITING FOR US?"

"WHO SAID YOU HAD TO WAIT FOR US, HUH?"

Somebody sighed behind them. All four of them turned around to see Yani, a black bag slung over her back.

"Stop fighting guys." She looked around puzzled, not knowing what was going on. "I back up whatever Naruto said," she said, shrugging. Naruto smiled widely.

"Awww, Yani. Thanks for taking my side." She winked and turned to Kakashi. Unslinging the bag from her shoulders, she rummaged around in it for a couple of second. When she drew out her hand, she was holding a beautiful flower that was made out of what looked like ice and light.

"Here," she said, shortly, handing the flower to Kakashi, "if you need me, I'll come this time." He nodded and took the flower. She quickly moved forward, hugging him around his waist, her head barely reaching his collarbone. Surprised for just a moment, he hugged her with one arm.

"Take care of yourself, Yani," Kakashi murmured and let go.

"Are you coming, Onee-san?" Sasuke scowl when she shook her head and scowled even more vehemently when the mouths of his teammates dropped open at the sound of the endearing term.

"Come here guys." Reaching into her bag again, she drew out three more flowers, each a little bit different, and handed it out to each of them. "If you ever need me, I need you to put that flower in water. Any amount of water is fine, even a tear. If you do, I will come find you, wherever you are. I promise." They all took a closer look at the flower and put it into their pockets.

"Have fun without us, Yani!" Naruto grinned weakly, still shocked at Sasuke's use of 'onee-san'.

"Take care," Sakura said gloomily. _Sasuke's more intimate with Yani than he is with me!_ she thought.

"Don't do anything stupid, Onee-san," Sasuke said. Although his tone was cold, the worried look in his eye betrayed him. He turned around and started to walk, making the others run to catch up with him. When they were a good length ahead, Kakashi turned around, pulled down his mask, and kissed her solidly on her mouth in one smooth movement. After they both gasped for air, he let his mouth linger hungrily over her mouth, brushing her lips. Then, sighing, he pulled up his mask and strolled leisurely after them.

After Yani couldn't see them anymore, she lowered the arm she had been waving with and looked sadly at the empty road. Finally tearing her eyes from the unbroken stretch of dirt, she walked by herself into the surrounding forest. The sunlight filtering in through the leaves left dappled pools of light on her pale skin as she trotted over tree roots, jumping streams. Following a winding trail that only she knew of, she gradually made her way into a clearing; different from the one she had met Kakashi in. She sat and settled on the ground, humming a tune. Out of her bag, she pulled out a sketchpad and color pencils. Suddenly, she stiffened and turned her head slightly. Whirling around, she threw one of her color pencils like a knife at a dark figure. The figure caught it and broke it in half, throwing its own knife at Yani in the process. She brought up her hands to block, waiting for the cold bite of metal on her forearm.

It never came.

When she smelled blood, she lowered her arms. Directly in front of her forehead, so close that she could feel the heat radiating off his skin, was a hand belonging to a male ninja. He had stopped the knife, which lay buried in the center of his palm. A drop of blood dripped onto her nose when he jerked the knife out of his hand without flinching.

"Are you okay?" His deep voice was laced with concern. "Are you hurt?"

There was a sharp, resounding crack when Yani slapped him across the cheek.

"Did I ASK you to take that knife for me?" she snarled and jerked the knife out of his hand. "You're lucky it's just a shallow wound." There was a flash of silver through the air as she slashed across her wrist. She held her wrist above his hand, her gold blood pouring directly onto the wound. Once the blood flow stopped, she wiped his hand clean with her hand. "There," she said, in a better mood now that the wound was gone. She lightly kissed the center of his hand. "All better." On the ninja's hand, there was no evidence of a cut or even a scar. His eyes widened slightly.

"Fast…" he murmured.

"Interesting thing you can do there," a different voice mused. She stiffened and looked behind the first male ninja. The second ninja grinned. "Hiya. Forgot me?" Lurching to her feet, she stumbled forward to the voice. Suddenly, the second ninja held the point of a 6-foot long sword to her throat. "I'm not as approachable as my partner here. You see—" She pushed past the sword and stood directly in front of the second ninja who was at least a foot and a half taller than her. He raised an eyebrow.

"Brave little fucker, are you?"

"Your voice sounds strange." Yani lifted both of her hands. "Can I touch your face?"

"…What?"

"Just let her," the first ninja said, still seated on the ground, flexing his hand. "She's blind, so she doesn't know what your face looks like." Yani whirled around to face the first ninja, who had finally stood up.

"How did you know that?" But before he could reply, the second ninja rolled his eyes and lifted her by her waist off the ground, just enough so that she could easily reach his face. Instantly, her curiosity returned to his face. Gently, her sensitive fingers traced his rough, scale-like skin and slits that felt like gills. "Shark?" she asked, laughing gleefully. Then, calming down, she added, with child-like wonder in her eyes, "You're beautiful."

"You're not that bad looking yourself," the ninja who was holding Yani said, amused. "Most people say fish though."

"Not with those teeth you aren't." Her hands moved along the serrated edges of his teeth, sharp enough the draw blood.

"Okay, enough." He set her down and she turned to the other ninja.

"How did you know I was blind?" she asked suspiciously.

"The color of your eyes, the way you walk, and the fact that you wanted to touch my partners face. I guess it's my turn now, isn't it?" He lightly took Yani's hands and placed them on his face.

All she could think of while tracing his face was how familiar he seemed. That sharp nose, high-cheek bones, and long lashes… Where had she felt them before? When she was done, she stepped back and had a good look at him, puzzled. The male ninja was puzzled, too.

"Hmmm…" he mused. Suddenly, he reached out and tapped underneath Yani's eye. "I could have sworn those were a bright blue a second ago." Yani was speechless.

"How… are you…?" He chuckled softly and adjusted his wide bamboo hat so that it was completely covering his face again.

"I can't see very well, myself, little girl. So with what little I see, I have to see everything." Yani glowered.

"Do not call me little, human," she said and her eyes burned a dusky purple. Then, she reached to the ground and picked up her broken color pencil. Sighing, she tossed it away.

"Hey," the shark-ninja interrupted, "I would love to stay and chat, but we have something to do."

"Wait," she called out, just as they were turning, "what are your names?"

"Kisame," the shark-ninja called out carelessly and disappeared.

"Itachi." He glanced at the ground where Yani had thrown the color pencil and was gone.


	5. Double Date

Chapter 4

"Itachi, where are we going? We're done, let's go home." Kisame yawned and looked at his partner. "I know our faces are covered with these hats but if someone recognizes us, they're going to make us fight." He yawned again. "And I'm too tired to have fun fighting."

"I broke her color pencil." Itachi replied calmly. "So, I'm buying another set."

"Whose color pencil?" Kisame asked. "Oh. The girl in the meadow. So you're going to return them the next time we're in these parts?" Itachi nodded. "You know, Itachi, you are way too soft to be in this group." Itachi smiled.

"Tell that to my family."

"Where are you keeping Sasuke, Kakashi?" Yani looked down from a tree branch to Kakashi, who was leaning against the trunk, reading his erotica book.

"Training," he replied, not bothering to look up. "He's is a lot like me."

"The girls are all over both of you. I see what you mean." He chuckled and continued to read his book. Yani dropped down beside him and sighed. This time, he looked down and stroking her head, slid down into a sitting position. He interlaced their fingers together.

"Do you want to go on another date with me?" She smiled and leaned her head on his shoulder.

"Well, it is about to rain…" she paused and smiled again. "Sure."

"Did you guys say date?"Asuma walked to them from the road he had been walking on. "Oh perfect! Can you guys go on a double date with Kurenai and me?" Seeing the look on Kakashi's face, he started to beg. "Look, I know I'm intruding, but this is my first date with her and I'm actually nervous. Come on Kakashi, you're my friend…" Kakashi laughed tiredly and then faced Yani. She nodded and smiled and Asuma.

"Change of plans then, I guess…" Yani looked to the distant forest.

"You don't have to change your plans! Just… wait… were you guys planning on… you know… having sex?"

"Our relationship is platonic," Kakashi said, "We were just planning on going into the woods…"

"Meet you at seven?" Yani asked before Asuma could ask any more questions.

"S-sure," he stammered and then teleported.

"So did he ask you on the date, Sensei?" Kurenai looked behind her to see Yani on her windowsill.

"Yes, he mentioned that you and Kakashi would be accompanying us. I'm sorry what he dragged you into."

"It was no trouble. I've never seen Kakashi dressed up, so I'm curious." Yani grinned. "And I bet he looks really good in a suit."

"You know, Yani, you don't have to call me Sensei. I know you're not a student."

"That's all right. I spend time with Naruto's age group so it feels more comfortable if I call you Sensei." Kurenai sighed and then broke out uncertainly.

"Honestly, I'm nervous about this date. I mean, sure I like Asuma but… what if he's embarrassed by me on this date? What if I do something wrong?"

"You can't," Yani interrupted quietly, "when you love somebody, all you care about is the other's happiness rather than yourself. If you make a mistake, he'll do whatever it takes to tell you that it's okay." Kurenai was silent.

"Did Kakashi tell you that?" she said at last. Yani looked away.

"Yeah, he did." Kurenai, sensing that she had steered the conversation to dark waters, quickly changed the topic. "So! Do you know what you're going to wear?"

"Not yet. Do you, Sensei?"

"No. Can you help me?"

"Sure," Yani said and hopped off the windowsill, walking into Kurenai's closet.

"Here let me help you with color."

"Yeah, that would be helpful," Yani said. Kurenai giggled along with her.

"Okay… Hmmm… What color are your eyes again?" Yani asked after she had felt the dresses and gotten the color on each one.

"Red."

"Then…" Yani pulled out a dress, "how about this one?" The dress was a strapless, crimson dress with a thigh length slit on the side. On top of it, Yani tossed a wide black belt and black, high-heeled sandals.

"Wow, it looks great!" Kurenai exclaimed. "But, do I need to do anything to my hair?"

"Nah, your hair is perfect. Just take off your forehead protector." Kurenai removed it and threw it on her dresser.

"Okay, now what about you?" The air around Yani shimmered and suddenly, she was standing in a two strap, black dress. The bottom of it reached mid-thigh and like all her clothing, it shimmered strangely. The golden threads in the shape of a moon right above her right thigh only accented the glittering.

"How did you do that?" Kurenai asked, astonished.

"I wove it out of the light. Honestly, I've always been able to do it, so I have no idea what it actually is."

"Wait, I know right now is not the best time to ask, but how do you see?"

"I see all living things. Or something that was once living or naturally produced by a living being. So I can see some of your dresses because they're made out of cotton or silk. But faces are really detailed so I like to feel the other persons face. Then, when I do, I can see their expressions. But I can't see anything that isn't living. Metal, rocks, dirt, water, etc." She looked at Kurenai anxiously. "But do I look good?"

"Has Kakashi never seen you in a dress?" Yani thought for a moment.

"Nope."

"He might actually take off his mask to kiss you in public."

"And Asuma-Sensei might nosebleed when he sees you."

"Where are they?" Kurenai said. They were waiting outside the restaurant they had agreed on.

"Kakashi's late usually. And if Asuma-Sensei is with him, they might be really late." Kurenai sighed and sat down next to Yani. Rapidly, Kurenai inhaled, looking forward.

"I'm sorry I'm late," Asuma said smiling sheepishly. "Kakashi went somewhere and I was waiting…" Kurenai stood up and he stopped talking. A thin line of dark red blood trickled down is nose into his open mouth.

"I told you, he'd nosebleed," Yani said, rolling her eyes and standing.

"You look nice, too, Asuma," Kurenai said pleased, blushing lightly. He did look nice. Asuma was wearing dress pants with a bright red dress shirt that was un-tucked and a black tie to match his black dress shoes.

"Oh look, you guys match!" Yani said gleefully, clapping her hands. Just as Asuma started to speak to Kurenai, Kakashi appeared and started to walk to them.

"Yo," Kakashi said, half-raising one hand in greeting, "sorry I'm…" He stopped talking as soon as Yani looked at him, both of his eyes widening. Yani eyebrows shot up and even Asuma and Kurenai stopped their conversation to watch the couple's reaction.

Because Kakashi wasn't wearing his forehead protector, he had both his eyes showing. Already his crimson left eye and the cut right through the flesh around it, not to mention the smoldering look he was giving Yani, were already attracting open-mouthed, drooling stares. He was dressed in dark jeans and open-toed sandals. A dark blue dress shirt hugged his muscled frame and right above his heart, a dog was embroidered in silver thread.

Although Asuma and Kakashi were both wearing dress shirts, they pulled off completely different styles. Asuma looked formally good-looking and with a cigarette hanging out of his mouth, some girls around him were already whispering. Kakashi, on the other hand, who was still looking at Yani, looked dangerously seductive. Already, the shock of seeing Yani was dissolving into just the burning look in his eyes.

For one of the rare times in her life, Yani felt like prey under Kakashi's scorching gaze. All around them, girls were whispering about Kakashi and jealously wondering how a girl wearing a black dress and no shoes could attract his attention. Sure, she was gorgeous, her straight black hair cascading down to her waist, and her eyes a beautiful mix of gold and black, but still…

"Kakashi?" Yani said, her voice breaking the trance. Everybody went back to what they had been doing.

"Yup?" he drawled, his gaze still traveling up and down her body. She smirked and narrowed her eyes.

"You are fucking hot." Kakashi's eyes narrowed in response.

"Yani?"

"Hmmm?" It was his turn to smirk. He growled low in his throat and clicked his teeth together. [It seems like you're showing more skin than when you just have your underwear and tank top on.] Quickly stepping forward, he pulled down his mask and slammed his mouth into her mouth. Disappointed sighs rose up from the crowd of girls around them but they took no notice. Yani's hand entangled in Kakashi's hair as she pulled him closer to her. Kakashi, in response, lifted her by the waist so that their heads, and mouths, were on equal level. Wrapping her legs around Kakashi's waist, Yani battled for dominance and was surprised when she lost. But she took it all in good grace and let Kakashi completely ravage her mouth.

It was a while when they finally broke for air. Kakashi dropped her gently and pulled up his mask as Yani put an arm around his waist.

"Umm… sorry," Kakashi apologized to a red-faced Asuma and Kurenai, rubbing the back of his head with the hand that wasn't around Yani's shoulders. "Why don't we go?"

When they came out of the restaurant, it was almost 10 o' clock. Just as they stepped onto the road, the heavens split open and rain came crashing down.

"Here," Kakashi said, and tossed Asuma an umbrella. "Walk Kurenai home."

"I can't steal your umbrella! Then you and Yani will get wet!" Just as Asuma protested this, Kakashi ripped of his mask and just laughed to the sky. When he looked back at Kurenai and Asuma, he was still laughing in pure joy. His wet shirt stuck to the outline of his abs and Yani's skirt clung to her legs.

"We love the rain. Nobody is outside in this weather." Yani grabbed Kakashi's hand and they both took off running down the street and out of sight.

"Sasuke! You're back!" As soon as he had stepped back in the town again with Kakashi, he was mobbed my girls, the loudest being Sakura and Ino.

"Sasuke, you look so much cooler!"

"He was always that cool, Ino-Pig!"

"Shut up, Billboard Forehead!" Sasuke didn't pay any attention to the arguing around him but instead, pushed out from the center of the chaos, looking, searching. He found her sitting under a tree, having an animated conversation with Naruto. Both of them were laughing, oblivious to their surroundings. Sasuke, scowling, pushed through the crowd to get closer to the two happy friends.

"Miss me Onee-san?" he asked, his voice annoyed. Yani looked up, her face dissolving from surprise into a smile. She lightly jumped to her feet and stepped forward. Then, her eyes flashed back to hazel as she looked at Sasuke in shock.

"When did you get so tall?" Yani exclaimed, trying and failing to pat Sasuke's head easily. Sasuke raised one eyebrow and smirked. "You're almost as tall as me now!"

"Come on Onee-san. Let's go home." Sasuke held out his hand, which Yani gently took. At this, all the girls that had gathered around Sasuke dropped their mouths open in shock.

"See you later Naruto!" Yani called back over her shoulder. Naruto just waved, too distracted by Sakura to actually answer.

When they arrived at Sasuke's house, it was dark and the stars lit their way like they did the first night she walked him home. But this time, Sasuke pulled Yani into the house and shut the door behind her.

"So what did you do while you were away from me?" Sasuke smiled.

"You make it sound so terrible. I learned how to do chidori. And—" Suddenly, he moved his shoulder and winced. Yani's hand was on his shoulder immediately.

"What happened? Did you get hurt during training?" Sasuke shook his head.

"It's nothing."

"Are you sure?"

"Yeah, it's fine."

"Do you need me to heal you?"

"I HATE it when you do that," Sasuke burst out. "I don't EVER want you to hurt yourself over something as little as soreness."

"Oh, Sasuke," Yani sighed, and slid down the wall to sit on the ground. Sasuke walked over to her and sat next to her, a sullen look on his face. Abrubtly, Sasuke laid his head on Yani's lap, closing his eyes. His sullen look mixed with absolute exhaustion. Yani, seeing this, began to soothingly run a hand through his hair. Sasuke looked at her through unflinching eyes, staring at each detail in her face. Then, taking one of her hands in his rough, calloused ones, he spoke again.

"I love you." Yani didn't answer, only continued to stroke his hair and look off to the right.

"Yani—"

"Sasuke, listen," she interrupted, looking down into his eyes. "I am, in the figurative sense, a Siren. You don't know how many men have tried to get me to date them and then rape me afterwards. And the worst part is, sometimes, I'm not allowed to refuse or retaliate. But most of the time, I kill the men. I kill them and then feed their bodies to my wolves. I—"

"I don't want that kind of relationship from you," Sasuke said softly, not meeting her eyes. There was a pause as Yani searched Sasuke's face.

"When you're a little bit older, I'll let you date me. But for now, you're the shorter one and I'm still your Onee-san. Now go to sleep." She started to hum a lullaby, still running her fingers through his hair. Sasuke started to drift away on her light, rich voice when she spoke again, this time in a whisper. "You're crossroad is approaching. I hope to the gods that you pick the right road."


	6. Clarification

Chapter 5

"Itachi, are you sure this is the right way?" Kisame grumbled. A dismal rain had just begun to fall and despite their long coats, the water was starting to drench them.

"Yes. I remember." Itachi steadily made his way through the rain. Kisame sighed.

"I guess we aren't getting back to the base tonight, huh, Itachi." Itachi didn't respond, only continued putting one foot in front of the other. When he started to cough, he had to steady himself on a tree trunk so that he didn't lose his balance.

"Itachi, are you okay? Did you strain yourself again?" Kisame put a hand on Itachi's shoulder to steady it. He stopped coughing after a few seconds and straightened up again.

"I think I overused my sharingan. But don't worry about me. I'm fine." He looked forward and started to walk forward again. Kisame didn't say anything, only looked at his partner with increasing anxiety until Itachi finally reached the clearing. "Ah, here we are."

"What is she doing standing in the rain?" Kisame asked and scowled when Itachi shrugged.

Yani was indeed standing in the rain with her arms crossed and her eyes staring into the distance. Her long hair hung in black, wet streaks and her clothes stuck to her slim figure, clearly showing that she was shivering. Kisame and Itachi looked at each other, each noting that her lips were tinged slightly blue and that she had lost color in her cheeks. However, when they started to approach, she heard them and gave a warm smile in their direction.

"You guys must be freezing!" she exclaimed when they reached her. She lightly slid her right hand into Itachi's left hand and her left hand into Kisame's right hand.

"But your hands are colder than ours," Kisame noted, trying to cover as much of Yani's cold hands as he could with his slightly warmer hands. Yani smiled again and started to move forward.

"It's okay if I'm cold. As long as you guys aren't." As they moved across the clearing, Kisame and Itachi exchanged glances over Yani's head, suspicious of her intention.

"Itachi? I know you're tired, but can you activate your sharigan? I need you to memorize the path to my house so that if you guys ever need it, you can use it." Obediently, Itachi's irises turned red as three dots appeared and circled around his pupil. He nodded and Yani began the path to her house.

Kisame, who didn't have the bloodline limit of sharingan, would have become hopelessly lost if he hadn't had Yani's hand in his own. Usually, there were holes in the brush that were hard to fit into unless you were Yani's size and stepping-stones too slippery for anyone besides Yani's nimble feet. However, they finally arrived at a huge house, which just fell short of being called a mansion, drenching wet by the pounding rain and freezing. Quickly, they ran to the front door and shook off all the moisture they could.

"Why are you laughing?" said Itachi, puzzled by Yani's behavior. Yani stopped, with a hand over her mouth, eyes a sharp, light blue.

"I'm sorry. I didn't know I was."

"No, no don't be sad…" Itachi said hastily.

"I think what Itachi's is trying to say is that we don't have a problem with you laughing, but why are you?" Kisame looked at Itachi with a pointed look.

"Oh, well…" Yani smiled and just opened the door, making the two ninja's wonder if the front door was ever locked. "This is big house and I usually don't have company. I get lonely. That's why I usually sleep at Kakashi's house. So, I'm glad you guys are here." She said this so sadly and so quietly that every suspicion of her evaporated from the ninjas' minds. "Why don't you hang up your clothes and pick a bedroom? Each one has it's own bathroom so there are towels if you need to dry off. Actually, why don't you guys take a shower, and when you're done, I'll have something for you to eat." Kisame and Itachi looked at each other.

"Actually, can we share a room?" Kisame asked, shifting uncomfortably in his wet clothes.

"Sure. The bigger rooms are upstairs." Yani disappeared into the kitchen.

"Do you think she's planning to kill us?" Kisame questioned his partner as they were trudging up the stairs. Itachi hesitated and then started to speak.

"No, I don't think so. What confuses me is that she looked like she was waiting for us at the meadow before. How could she have known that we were coming? How she got this big house in the middle of nowhere is also strange."

"Well, if anything, it's a free place to stay and free food." Kisame proceeded to hang up both of their dripping coats as Itachi continued to think.

"Well… we don't know if it's free yet. This might still be a trap. She obviously knows Kakashi. Probably, the only reason she isn't reporting us is the fact that she has no idea who we are." Itachi started to cough again as Kisame hovered, worried. "I'm fine, Kisame," he said after he stopped. "Why don't you take a shower first?" Kisame nodded and then went into the bathroom, closing the door behind him. Suddenly, he opened the door again.

"Hey Itachi, if she knows Kakashi, maybe she knows Sasuke." With that, he closed the door again, leaving Itachi to think about the possibility.

"Maybe," he said to himself, looking out the window.

Kisame opened the door of his room to see Yani, who had been knocking on the door a second ago.

"Hi! Can you help me bring the table up?" Kisame nodded and followed Yani downstairs, picking up the table laden with all sorts of hot dishes. By the time they got back upstairs, Itachi had come out of the shower and was looking out the window to watch the rain outside.

"Thank you for bringing up the table." Yani smiled at Kisame. "If you need more food, just ask me." As Yani was about to go out the door, Itachi started coughing again, this time violently.

"Oh, that sounds bad. Can I heal that for you?"

"No, don't." Kisame and Yani looked at him with different emotions on their faces. The shark ninja had an incredulous and concerned look on his face, clearly betraying what he was thinking. Yani, on the other hand, first had a puzzled look on her face, her eyes green. Then, they slowly turned into an ice blue as vague understanding clicked in her eyes. A small shiver passed through Itachi as he looked into those eyes. At that moment, he felt that Yani had stripped him of everything, washed his heart with cold water, and examined the very core of his being. Stepping forward hesitantly, she slowly passed a hand over the front of his neck and hummed a slow, solid, earthy melody, watching him for a sign to stop. When she took her hand away, his sore throat was gone. His chest still hurt but the need to cough had disappeared.

"Is that… okay?" she asked, wondering if she had guessed right. Itachi nodded and gently took hold of her Yani's wrist, facing her palm upwards.

"Here," he said, handing Yani a packet of color pencils. Her eyes widened when she realized what they were.

"I broke one last time. I'm sorry." They just stood staring at each other, both of them equally confused by what they knew of the other person.

"You're favorite color is gold, isn't it?" Yani asked. Her eyes flashed from a confused green to a gold-sprinkled black as she laughed at Itachi's astonishment and ran out the door.

"Thanks for everything, Yani," Kisame said, narrowing his eyes against the bright glare of the sun in the early morning sky. Itachi nodded and smiled slightly.

"No problem. You guys know the way back, right?" Itachi tapped under his eye and smiled again, this time, more widely.

"Good. See you again soon!"

"Wait, Yani." She turned around to face Itachi.

"Yeah?"

"Do you know a Sasuke Uchiha?"

"Yes, why?"

"How… how is he?" Yani looked up at the cloudless sky and sighed.

"He's… approaching a decision point. Whatever he picks will completely change the course of our nation." She looked at Itachi again. "He was really impacted by what his brother did."

"What did his brother do?" Itachi asked, his face stoic.

"He killed his entire clan and told Sasuke the only reason he spared his life was so that Sasuke could start to hate more." Yani tilted her head, looking at Itachi with thin blue eyes.

"His brother is horrible, isn't he?" Itachi asked, looking away into the forest.

"…no." Quickly reverting his eyes to Yani, he gave her a questioning look. She started to speak slowly. "A… brother's love… is very strong. I think… somehow… Sasuke's older brother was trying to protect Sasuke… even if this killing had to occur. It… is a very strong love…"

Kisame's genuine laugh exploded into the silence, as Itachi forced a smile. But even though a beautiful smile was on her face, Yani's eyes were still a cold blue.

"Well, we have to go," Kisame stated, and started to turn around when Yani spoke again.

"Can you guys do me a favor?"

"If it is reasonable," Kisame said and grinned.

"You're part of the Akatsuki, right?" Both of them narrowed their eyes and shifted slightly into a more threatening stance.

"So you knew, huh?" Kisame mumbled and smiled his shark smile. "We aren't going to stop killing people only because you housed us for one night." Yani scowled.

"Let her finish, Kisame," Itachi said quietly.

"Please… come visit again. With more of your group members if you can." The expressions of amazement on the two ninja's faces were so intense, it bordered on hilarious.

"You… are well aware of the fact that we are the greatest power of organized crime in the ninja nations and yet, you still want to associate with us?" Kisame managed to say.

"Did you read the sign?" Yani responded, and tapped on a wooden plaque next to her, drilled in to the door.

"In the darkness, light does bloom

In the light, exists the gloom

There is a balance in good and bad

That is not contained to a broken tomb

Do not ask me to forsake the night

Do not ask to dim the light

All I do is heal all hearts

I'll help when all men cease to fight

There are exceptions. A flower sign

Dwells upon those who are mine

Though it may not seem, I can kill with ease

Do not try to cross the line

Beyond this point, all life is dear

Do not try to fight in here

If you do, I warn thee

You have yet to know what is true fear"

"An ally for both sides, eh?" Kisame laughed, "Well, how can we trust you?"

"Trust is built. You can't just TRUST me. But after a while, you'll start believing in me." Yani shrugged and then smiled. "But I really do want to meet your teammates."

"We'll see," Itachi said and started to walk back to the shadows of the forest, Kisame right behind him.


	7. Honest Betrayal

Chapter 6

It started to rain as Sasuke just stared at the unconscious Naruto. Finally tearing his eyes from the face of the friend he had just fought, he became aware of a panicking feeling in his heart.

_I have to get to Orochimaru's base!_ he thought, looking around desperately. But he didn't know the way. The forest looked all the same to him, forbidding, ominous, dark. Hopelessness started to well up next to the panic. Suddenly, he remembered the flower that Yani had given him and felt the coolness in his pocket. So, he reached into his pocket, pulled it out, and held it in his palm, the rain pouring into the crevices. Almost like a real flower, the ice flower slowly closed as soon as it felt the rain. A bright flash of light released from it as it fell and shattered on the ground. Thirty seconds later, Yani flickered in front of Sasuke.

"O-Onee-san! Please help! I-I don't know how to get to Orochimaru's base a-and Naruto is unconscious a-and…" he trailed off as he saw Yani's eyes turn so pale blue that they seemed white. "Onee-san… Orochimaru said that I would get more powerful if I came to him… a-and… I need to kill my brother… I have to… because he killed my parents!" He was going to go on when Yani took his hand and jerked him into the forest. Just as they had disappeared into the forest, Kakashi leaped to where Naruto was, unconscious. Pressed to Yani's side, Sasuke and Yani hid behind a tree, watching Kakashi.

Kakashi crouched down next to Naruto and then looked up, straight into Yani's eyes. As slowly as she dared, she put a finger up to her lips, making a motion for him to be silent. Black pearls started to gather at her feet as tears poured down her face. The rain was difficult to see through but Sasuke could have sworn he saw a tear trace down Kakashi's cheek.

_I'm sorry,_ Yani mouthed, never leaving her eyes from Kakashi's eyes. He nodded and looked back to Naruto. Spinning on her heels, Yani bounded deeper into the forest, pulling Sasuke along by his cold arm.

"Onee-san…"

"Hush!" Sasuke shut his mouth. "Let me ask you this. Did your brother become very distant before he killed your family?"

"Y-yes…" At this, Yani let go of Sasuke's arm and howled into the sky, crying in absolute grief. "Onee-san?" Sasuke reached forward and pulled Yani into his arms. "Onee-san, I'm sorry. Shhh… I'm sorry. Please don't cry…" Eventually, the howl ebbed away, leaving only a throbbing silence in its wake. Yani pulled away from Sasuke, her eyes still the palest blue. She turned around, leaving Sasuke no choice but to follow.

When the rain finally broke, it was night. The clouds continued to clear until the sky was filled with golden stars, all sparkling amiably. All around Yani and Sasuke, the silhouettes of trees and bushes flashed by as they continued to run through the frosty, damp air. Finally, Sasuke collapsed onto his knees, unable to run any farther in his condition. Yani stopped immediately and made her way back to the figure of the fallen boy, not even breathing hard. Reaching into her bag, she pulled out a black blanket that shimmered like all the clothes she wore. She draped it over the shivering boy and almost immediately, he stopped shaking with the cold. Leaning on a tree trunk next to him, she pulled him onto her lap, mindful of his aching body. And with the gentlest touch Sasuke had ever felt, Yani started to rub the feeling back into his arms and legs.

"S-stop…" he stuttered through clenched jaws, pushing her hands away from his legs. She stopped and instead, cradled his face in her hands, letting their foreheads touch. Sasuke, in response looped an arm around her neck and somehow pulled her down so that she was no longer sitting but lying next to Sasuke, under the blankets. He drew her arm over his stomach and shifted to face her.

"Sing me your life-song, child," she whispered, tracing a finger down his sharp nose, almost as if she was starting a ritual. "Tell me what you can't tell anyone else." She dragged her fingertips down his left cheek. "Tell me what despairs you", she said and touched one finger gently to his left eyelid. "And you will be free." As soon as she kissed his forehead, Sasuke started to talk.

He told her how everyday, he was train to beat his brother, train to strive for his father's attention, train, and train hard. But he feared he would never catch up to his brother, who was a genius. His brother, who had graduated the Academy at the age of 8 and had joined the ANBU and the age of 12. He told her how he couldn't help but loving his brother, and that his brother would treat him to make him feel like the specialist person in the world. And he had honestly thought his brother had loved him. But one day, he had come home to find his entire clan dead and his parents' corpses at the foot of his brother.

"He spared me," Sasuke said, quietly, "He told me to run, like the coward I was. He told me to live and learn to hate. He told me to hate him with all my heart, or I would never beat him." Sasuke drifted off into silence. "And so I find myself here," he added after a while, "with you."

"Feel better?" Yani asked after another silence, half-smiling. Sasuke sighed, and then smiled.

"Yeah. I'm not shaking anymore."

"Good," and with that, Yani tucked herself in the crook of Sasuke's arm and closed her eyes, hoping he didn't see the soul-chilling blackness of her tear-rimmed gaze.

Yani got up when the sun rose, like she usually did. Standing up and stretching, she tried not to disturb Sasuke, who was still sleeping on the ground. But eventually, she shook his shoulder gently.

"Come on," she whispered when he opened his eyes, "it's time to go." Sasuke got up stiffly and shook out his aching body.

"Why are your eyes—" Without responding, Yani once again took the lead, traveling faster than she had before.

At dusk, they reached a cave descending underground.

"There," she said, a tone of finality in her voice. Sasuke looked to her. "That's the entrance to your destination." When Sasuke looked into the dark, all-encompassing shadows of the cave, he heard Yani moving away.

"Wait!" he felt the word burst through his lips, desperation and sadness mixed into it. He automatically became quiet, ashamed of what he had to ask her. Yani looked back, and then smiled. Taking his hand, she led the way down into the cave. She had understood.

Kabuto twitched and then turned to look to the entrance.

"Lord Orochimaru, Uchiha Sasuke approaches." Kabuto bowed to he figure lounging on the stone throne.

"Excellent," he hissed, his narrow, snake-like eyes glittering. "Is there anybody with him?" Kabuto frowned.

"I'm… not sure, my lord. The presence, if there is one, seems to flicker." Orochimaru's thin eyebrows rose.

"You are not usually unsure, Kabuto. Maybe Sasuke has brought a trap to us?"

"It is possible, my lord. If he did, this person seems to be very powerful. He or she might be shielding his or her chakra from me." Orochimaru was silent for a couple of seconds, thinking.

"Maybe we could acquire this other person, too?" Kabuto's mouth split into a grin.

"If my lord desires," Kabuto said and walked over to the cave.

"Yani, you're _shining_," Sasuke ran a tentative hand over the curve of Yani's face.

"I know," she quietly replied, leaning away from Sasuke's touch. A soft glow emitted from her bare skin, and a lesser glow from her black clothes.

"Why?" Sasuke asked, sliding his hand in Yani's.

"I don't like dark places. Or closed in spaces." Her touch was icy.

By now, they could see where the cave opened up into a cavern. Slowly, they made their way over to it, Sasuke's sandals crunching on the sandy floor while Yani's bare feet made absolutely no sound. Suddenly, there was a flurry of movement as a hooded figure made an attempt to grab Yani but found both of his arms broken by Sasuke. The sharp sound of bones breaking stopped the rest of the hooded figures from advancing on the girl.

"_Don't touch her!_" Sasuke snarled, winding a possessive arm around Yani's waist. "_You touch her, you get both your arms ripped off!_" Something about Sasuke's, not words but, _eyes_ made them back up.

"Don't mind him," Kabuto's smooth voice rang out, "take the girl and I will give whomever that brings her to me freedom." The hooded figures leapt forward as a whole with a roar; Sasuke's threat was no match to Kabuto's offer of freedom.

Yani stepped forward and with a snap of her fingers, brought all of them to the ground, cradling their heads. She giggled and Sasuke noticed her eyes had changed from dull black to black with light blue swirls.

"Feeling better?" Sasuke asked drily, noting that her clothes didn't glimmer anymore. Yani stopped giggling but nodded, still smiling.

"What did you do to them?" Kabuto asked mildly, nudging the nearest figure with his foot, making him scream.

"I made them sad," she replied simply, in a child-like voice. Walking forward, she stood in front of Kabuto.

"My name is Yani." Kabuto wanted to smile at that beautiful face. He didn't, but bowed mock-politely.

"My name is Kabuto," he said, "Lord Orochimaru is waiting for Sasuke." He offered her his arm, and she took it, serenely stepping over the bodies on the floor. Sasuke growled, making Yani look back.

"Jealous?" she asked with a lofty tilt in her head. He was about to snap back when he saw the love glittering in her eyes. So he relaxed and smiled.

"Nah," he said, moving closer to Yani and slinging an arm over her shoulder.

"Wait." Yani hesitated and then turned around. All around her, the figures were moaning, their bloodshot eyes rolling up into their heads. "I'm… going to take this back." With a flick of her wrist, a dark mist rose out of every body and wrapped around her. When it settled, her clothes were shimmering again and her eyes were pitch black once more. "Okay," she said, quiet, "let's go."

"I see you came, Sasuke," Orochimaru's voice rustled as he moved fluidly. However, his eyes were on Yani as he approached the group. "And who is this?"

"My name is Yani." She fidgeted under his intense gaze and moved slightly closer to Sasuke, who narrowed his eyes.

"Last name?" he asked smoothly.

"Don't have one," she answered, and twisted her hands behind her back. "Can I come back? To visit?" Orochimaru looked at her some more, examining her glowing skin and uncomfortable expression.

"Of course," he said. With that, she kissed Sasuke on the cheek and bolted out of the room.

"Naruto?" Naruto turned and saw Yani outside of his hospital window, tapping on the glass. His face broke into a smile.

"I'll be right out," he called, making Yani smile and drop down onto the street. Dressing quickly and quietly, he opened the window and jumped down to where Yani was standing.

"How are you feeling?" she asked after hugging him.

"Fine, I didn't get beat up that bad by…" The name 'Sasuke' hovered in the air as he drifted into silence. "So, what were you doing while we were getting owned?" A fake smile was plastered on his face.

"Oh… just… watching…" Naruto raised an eyebrow.

"Just watching what?"

"N-nothing… never mind!" Naruto grabbed Yani's shoulders.

"Yani… what aren't you telling me." Yani tugged backward.

"Naruto, you're just getting paranoid."

"You helped Sasuke, didn't you?"

She couldn't breathe.

"When I was sleeping, I heard Kakashi-sensei and Guy-sensei arguing about something like that. I thought… I was dreaming…" A whimper escaped from Yani's mouth, but Naruto continued. "Yani… how could you…?"

"What was I supposed to do?" she said fiercely, desperation in her voice.

"Stop him!" Naruto replied, just as vehemently.

"You don't understand, Naruto. My—"

"No Yani, _you_ don't understand. All of us were so desperate in getting him back and on the last part, when you could have stopped him, you didn't. You helped him get away!" Yani covered her ears. Naruto grabbed her wrists and pulled her hands away.

"I know you're powerful enough! So why the _hell _didn't you stop him?"

"Naruto, my power isn't like that! It would—"

"DIDN'T YOU LOVE HIM? LIKE THE REST OF US?" Suddenly, Naruto felt himself being pulled away by steeled arms, arms he couldn't struggle out of. When those arms tossed him to the ground, he saw Kakashi staring at him with narrowed eyes, rage burning in his gaze.

"Naruto," Kakashi said, his voice threatening to break control, "you should have listened to what Yani was saying."

"It seems like Naruto and I am on the same mind on this, Kakashi." Guy stepped up behind Naruto and picked him up. "How can Yani justify what she did as right?"

"Asuma… Kurenai… you guys, too?" Kakashi asked. Guy and Naruto turned around to see the pair standing with arms crossed.

"I can't see why she couldn't have subdued him," Asuma drawled and Kurenai nodded.

There was a silence as they all stared at Kakashi. Abruptly, he stepped forward and gestured to Yani, who was behind him.

"That's why," he said quietly as every pair of eyes widened. While they had been talking, the ground around her had turned black, into ash. As they watched, the fence boards behind her started to topple as the base of the boards turned to ash. In the center of the ever-widening circle of death, Yani sat, sobbing tears that turned into black pearls.

"Yani cannot control herself." Kakashi was the only one who could speak right now. "She has many ways to fight and all of them can easily kill me. Not only that but she usually can't stop herself when she starts attacking. She would have killed Sasuke."

"What… is she doing right now?" Guy asked, still awe-struck.

"Venting, in the loosest sense," Kakashi said drily, then became quiet again. "She's seen a lot of terrible things in this world. And when she likes someone, she often absorbs the bad things they saw, too, so they won't have to suffer. When she gets emotionally unstable," he nodded to Naruto, "she vents involuntarily and burns everything around her to ashes. If you step into that circle, you'll start to see some of the stuff she did, but only the weaker ones." Kakashi looked at Yani again, who was still crying in that heart-broken way and then looked back at the group. "You are welcome to try." With that, he turned around and started to walk towards her.

As soon as he stepped into the circle, his body jerked, reacting to the horrible images that were going through his head. Children dying, girls getting raped, entire clans being wiped out by disease. Although they were gruesome, Kakashi had been right when he said they were weaker. All the faces had been blurred over and the moments themselves seemed glossed over.

"Yani? Sweetie?" Yani kept crying. "Shhh… baby, don't cry." Yani quieted and buried herself in Kakashi's embrace.

"I-I didn't want to kill S-sasuke.."

"I know, heart, I know. I was there, remember? It's okay, babe. Shhh…"

"Yani?" Naruto broke out, "Yani, I'm so sorr—"

"It's okay, Naruto." Yani's voice was muffled. "You didn't know."


	8. Guard Her Well

Chapter 7

Itachi waited for the shadowy figure of the Leader to speak.

"And are you sure she is… unbiased?" Itachi nodded.

"Yes. She heals whoever needs healing. Furthermore, her home is near the village. It is an ideal location for a rest." There was another moment of silence as the leader thought.

"Is she powerful?"

"I don't know. I could not feel the presence of any chakra. She may have been hiding it or she may not have any at all. I'm not a sensor." Itachi hesitated and then spoke again. "I'm not exactly sure if this is always the method, but she heals with her blood." He shook his head. "It's the strangest color. Gold. Dazzling gold."

The Leader thought for another minute. "Bring whoever's bored with you. As many as you can." Itachi's eyebrows rose. The Leader saw and chuckled drily. "We need a healer. I do not want her to escape. Trap her."

"I think if we ask, she will come."

"Nevertheless, trap her. I heard she approached Kisame without a shudder. I want to see if she fears."

Itachi nodded reluctantly and turned to go. Within an hour, the entire Akatsuki clan was on the way to Yani's house.

"I can't believe Leader made all of us go, un!" Diedara shook his head in annoyance as the bomb-maker's long blond hair, tied up in a ponytail like usual, got into his blue eyes. The mouths embedded in his hands clacked their teeth together in agreement.

"Is she hot, Itachi?" Hidan asked, his mouth curling up into a lecherous smile. Although his silver hair and beautiful features made him look like an angel, his naked torso, Jashin amulet, pinkish-purple eyes, and three-bladed scythe belied his innocence. Itachi remained silent. Instead, Kisame spoke up.

"Like you wouldn't believe." He grinned, his sharp teeth flashing in the sunlight.

"She has a mansion, huh?" Kakuzu voiced through his mask. The clink of money resounded in his voice. He flexed his arms, making his stitches squirm. "Rich bitch."

"Don't call her that." Kakuzu looked at Itachi, who looked steady back at him. "She's not like that. You'll understand when you see her."

"But she's blind, isn't she? Why did I have to go? She should be easy to take on, un!" There was a thwack as Hidan slapped him over the head.

"Stop complaining," he growled, "Or our Lord Jashin will strike you dead!"

"He's your god, un!"

"Lord Jashin reigns over all!"

"Your _face_ reigns over all, yeah!"

"That wasn't even a diss!"

"As me if I care, hm!"

"We're here," Itachi said tersely, stopping the argument. The group stood behind some trees, effectively screening them from Yani, if she happened to look that way. She sat with her head on her knees, her arms wrapped around her legs. Once, she stiffened and raised her head, looking their way. But after they didn't move a muscle, she settled her head back on her knees again.

Suddenly, there was a huge explosion and where Yani had been sitting moments ago, a cloud of smoke rose into the sky.

"Idiot! You weren't supposed to blow her up! You were supposed to trap her!" Hidan screamed.

"There goes our money," Kakuzu mumbed. Diedara laughed.

"Look, un!" Yani was crouched a few feet to the right of the explosion, eyes wide. The place where she was standing exploded again and this time, the team saw her appear a few feet away.

"Stop exploding her! I didn't even get a good look at her!" Hidan yelled as Diedara kept launching explosions. Diedara laughed again, making more explosions.

"Come on! She's avoiding all of them, yeah!" It was true. Yani was easily jumping away from each explosion, with only a look of curiosity on her face. Kisame started the hand-signs for a justu.

"Water Prison!" he said and a bubble of water enclosed Yani. Instead of struggling, she pushed on the wall of the bubble, noticing it stretched. "She can't get out of that." Kisame grinned. However, his grin quickly evaporated when the bubble melted, leaving Yani dripping wet but smiling happily.

"Hi Kisame!" she shouted, waving with her entire arm. Hidan whistled.

"Damn, she's really hot." The entire team clearly thought so too as they examined the damp shirt and shorts that stuck to her slim frame. Even her wet hair, which had now become tousled because of the wind, only added to her innocent, gorgeous charm. Suddenly, the stitches on Kakuzu's arms shot out, entangling themselves around Yani. She yelped and then scowled.

"Stop it!" she snarled, her eyes flashing dusky purple. The stitches started to slowly stop moving and then peeled back from her body, releasing her. When team looked at Kakuzu, he shrugged and retracted the stiches.

"My turn," Hidan said, throwing his scythe at her.

She caught it. She used both hands and slid back a couple of feet but nevertheless, she caught it.

"What do you want?" she asked slowly, letting the scythe fall to the dust. Without responding, Itachi formed hand-signs.

"Earthen Walls," Itachi murmured, while walls made out of stone closed around Yani.

"Well… that was—" Hidan cocked his head, leaving off from the rest of his sentence. They all heard it now; a high-pitched sound was coming from inside the stone box. Just when they realized it was screaming, the box crumbled and the full force of the screaming hit them.

_B sharp_, Itachi thought, realizing it was not screaming, but a very high note. The entire group winced and covered their ears. When Yani finally stopped, they shifted into attacking, more hostile positions. But what she did next completely surprised them all.

Yani collapsed on the ground and started to cry.

"W-why did you have to d-do that, Itach-chi," she sobbed, "I h-hate the dark. And I hate s-s-small spaces." Nobody could say anything. "I w-would have come if-f you asked m-me. You d-didn't h-h-have to…" At this point she pulled her knees up and started to cry in earnest, as if the darkness in that stone box had chilled her soul.

"…we forgot that she's still—"

"Young." Itachi finished Hidan's sentence. "…we forgot that she's still so young."

"Uhhh… Yani? It's okay. We won't put you into that box again, hm!" She continued to cry. Hidan dropped the chain he was holding, which was connected to the scythe that was on the ground beside her. Slowly he approached her and crouched in front of her. Gently using his thumb, he wiped away her tears, cradling her face with his hands.

"Shhh… don't cry." Immediately, her whimpers died down as she looked at him in fright, her eyes a rosy pink with light blue streaks. "We're not gonna hurt you, okay?" Tears started to well up as she fidgeted backwards. "I promise. It was our mistake this time. None of us are ever going to hurt you again." She looked at him and then looked at the ground, drawing her knees up again.

"My name's Hidan. That's Diedara, Kakuzu, and you know Itachi and Kisame." He pointed to each of them in turn. Diedara stuck out his tongue in a friendly way, Kakuzu half-lifted a hand in greeting, Itachi nodded, and Kisame flashed one of his shark grins. She was quiet for a moment, just watching him. She lifted her hand after a second and placed it on Hidan's face. Itachi had warned him about this so he just sat back, a smile tugging at the corner of his mouth.

"Hi," she finally said, still subdued.

"Leader wants to see you. Can you come with us?" Yani nodded and then yawned involuntarily. Hidan smiled.

_She's so cute_, he thought, his eyes traveling over her long lashes, her eyebrows arched by his Lord Jashin, her gorgeous eyes, her thick, straight, long hair, her fragile figure…

"Are you tired?" Yani hesitated and then nodded again. Hooking one arm underneath her knees and one arm underneath her back, he lifted her up, making sure to stand up in an unhurried pace. "You can sleep. Don't worry. We promised, didn't we?"

She fell asleep almost immediately and when she did, Hidan walked back to the group.

"She's really light," he remarked mildly, as Kisame touched her nose gently, "like fifty pounds."

"Come on, let's go," Itachi said, running on the trail back to their base. They all took off after them.

When they had been traveling for about fifteen minutes, Kisame slowed down next to Hidan.

"I want to hold her now."

"Fine," Hidan said reluctantly, putting her into Kisame's arms. "But you have to run really smoothly or you'll wake her up."

"Yeah, yeah, I know." Kisame rolled his eyes and continued forward. Eventually, Diedara wanted to hold her, too. Kakuzu gave in an hour later and asked if he could hold her after Diedara. Finally, Itachi slowed down next to Kakuzu and without a word, took Yani into his arms.

And to him, it was the strangest feeling in the world. As soon as she passed over to his arms, she frowned slightly and then smiled faintly, snugging closer to his chest. He felt as if they fit together perfectly, as if he was meant to carry her for eternity. Nothing was uncomfortable or at sharp angles. Her head fit into the crook of his shoulder and his arm curved almost naturally around her back.

"Itachi, you have to wake her up. We're almost at the base. She might freak out if she woke up in the dark." Hidan slowed down and then stopped in front of the opening of an abandoned temple.

"Yani?" he murmured, his eyes on her face. "Yani, we're here."

"Come on, little guppy, time to get up."

"WHAT! You're pet name for her is guppy? No! How about… ticker! Because ticker bombs are the smallest, yeah!"

"Just call her little coin."

"No! By the grace of my Lord Jashin, we got her to come here so we can call her Jashin's Gift!"

By this time Yani had woken up. She slid out of Itachi's arms and into the grass, where she yawned and rubbed her eyes. Hidan crouched in front of her for a second time.

"Yani, we have to go into our base, okay? It's dark in there, but it's not closed in. It's really big." Hidan scooped her up easily and set her on her feet. When she leaned against him in an effort to go to sleep, they noted that she didn't even reach Hidan's chin. Smiling, Hidan wound his arms around her waist, hugging her. Then, he pulled away, pulling her hand, and walking into the entrance of the temple.

As the group got farther and farther away from the entrance, it became darker. Finally, they noticed her glowing skin.

"Yani, you're… glowing…" Kisame passed a hand down her arm.

"I know…" she whispered, still quiet, clutching on to Hidan's hand. Her hand had become cold. After a five-minute walk through silent hallways, they reached a vast room with Leader standing in the center.

"Is this the girl you were talking about?" Leader's voice rang in the empty room.

"Yeah! And she's really cute, hm!" There was a dull thud as Hidan slapped Diedara over the head. Yani took one step at a time, shyly, getting closer to Leader until she stood directly in front of him.

"What's your name?"

"Yani." She fidgeted under his gaze.

"How old are you." Suddenly, she scowled.

"You don't have to know." Ringing laughter resounded from Leader's mouth.

"Who's your favorite member, from those you met so far?" She scowled again, this time more vehemently.

"Does it matter?" Leader smiled.

"It chooses who you're going to spend the night with."

"You can choose."

"Very well. Spend the night with Kisame and Itachi. They share a room so you can always go to the other if you don't like one." Yani nodded, twisting her fingers. "I heard you don't like the dark. Is this why you're so fidgety?" She nodded again. "Well, Itachi's and Kisame's room has a big window in it." The Leader patted her head. "We'll talk more in the morning. You may go." Quickly bowing, she ran back to Kisame, who scooped her up and went to his room, followed by Itachi.

Yani fell asleep on Kisame's heated mat as soon as he laid her down in it. Chuckling, he and Itachi changed into their sleeping clothes and slid into their respective mats. Later in the night, after everybody had fallen asleep, Itachi woke up into one of his coughing fit. But even before he coughed twice, Yani was right next to him, humming the same melody she had before to stop the coughing.

"Thank you," he said softly, making sure not to wake up Kisame, although he snored loudly. Yani's eyes were the same light blue he had seen before.

"Light blue means sad, right?" Itachi tapped under her eye. She smiled despondently and drew her knees up, wrapping her arms around them.

"I wouldn't know. I've never seen the color of my eyes. I didn't know they changed until someone told me a long time ago." They were silent.

"Well, they are light blue when you are sad. The same color they were when you were talking about Sasuke." He tried not to let any emotion into his voice when he said 'Sasuke'. Yani sighed.

"Sasuke chose wrong at the crossroads. He chose to go to Orochimaru and forsake his friendship with one of his closest friends."

"What did you mean back then when you said a brother's love is strong?" Yani fidgeted and then settled again.

"I meant that I don't think sparing Sasuke's life was an act of hatred or pity. I think it was an act of love. A love so strong, that although the brother killed the entire clan, he could not kill his brother."

"You don't think his brother was evil?"

"Again with this stupid good and evil stuff. No, I don't. I think he was pure, the purest anyone can be. And I bet he still watches over his brother. Like a guardian angel."

"How… could you think that way? He killed his entire family and gave his brother nightmares for years!"

"Nightmares help you appreciate good dreams."

"Yani." Itachi could feel himself straining to breathe. "Yani… I'm… Sasuke's brother."

And without hesitation, Yani replied quietly.

"I know." With that, she snuggled closer to him on the electric mat and went to sleep.

When he woke up, Yani was gone and Kisame's mat was also empty. But when he saw the sunlight streaming in from the window, he sighed.

_I overslept again_, he thought.

As he changed out of his sleeping clothes into his regular clothes, Kisame walked into the room carrying tea.

"Here," he said gruffly and put it on the table. There was no need for words as Itachi smiled on the inside, still dressing. He knew Kisame worried about his health and they were as good as friends as they could be in a notorious crime organization.

After Yani had fallen asleep, Itachi had studied her for the longest time. Even with the pale moonlight that had been spilling over her face, she still had looked so vibrant and… alive. Her face had flickered with emotions that he never showed in his face, particularly the sadness that had seemed to capture her entire being. And when he had gently trailed his finger across the bridge of her nose, she had smiled as brilliantly as the sun and leaned closer to the warmth of his body.

"Leader said we have to escort Yani back as soon as he's done talking to her." Kisame grinned. "Just us. Back to the village."

"I'm not sure why you're smiling," Itachi deadpanned putting on his black and red jacket. Kisame chuckled.

"Hidan, Diedara, and Kakuzu threw a fit when they heard that." Itachi raised an eyebrow.

"Kakuzu?" Kisame grinned more widely.

"In his own way." Nodding Itachi wrapped his hands around the cup of tea, sipping it slowly.

_It's so cold. Always so cold_, he thought, tasting what he felt like was death.

"Come on," Kisame said, "Let's wait outside the room for her." However, when they walked outside, they heard a gigantic explosion and Hidan's scream.

"LORD JASHIN WILL KILL YOU. WE WILL RIP OUT YOUR ORGANS AND YOUR PAIN WILL BE SACRIFICE TO HIM!" Kisame and Itachi walked into the room to find Kakuzu restraining a screaming Hidan with his stitches as Diedara sulked in a corner.

"It's your fault, un! You said my bombs aren't art, so I showed you, yeah!"

"THE ONLY ART WHEN I'M DONE WITH YOU WILL BE YOUR DEAD BODY STRUNG AGAIST A WALL FOR LORD JASHIN'S SACRIFICE!" Hidan was in pretty bad condition. He had millions of cuts everywhere, all streaming blood and one of his arms hung at his side, useless.

"But you're immortal, hm!"

"THAT DOESN'T MEAN I CAN'T FEEL PAIN YOU SON OF A—"

"But you like pain, yeah!"

"ONLY IF MY VICTIMS ARE SUFFERING WITH ME!" Diedara continued to sulk, even when Leader walked in with Yani at his side.

As soon as Yani smelled the blood in the air, her eyes widened. In a matter of seconds, she was by Hidan and searching the ground frantically. Once her eyes traveled to Hidan's torso, she darted over to Itachi and grabbed a kunai from his pouch. Then, in one smooth motion, she cut her wrist and held her wrist to Hidan's mouth.

"Drink it!" she said fiercely. Hidan, who already drank blood in his rituals, was not surprised as he held her wrist closer and started to lap up the golden blood. Once the golden flow ceased, she put both hands flat on his bare chest and sang a complicated melody about ocean waves tumbling the sands clean. Nobody could concentrate on her words because her voice was absolutely enthralling. It pulled them in with promises of wonderful things and yet, paralyzed them to the point where they could not move. A sapphire glow surrounded Hidan as his cuts healed and his arm started to reknit into the body. A moment later, he was completely healed, cautiously flexing his arm with a look of wonder on his face.

"Well, that's useful," Leader finally stated, breaking everybody out of a staring trance.

"Useful does not cover it," Kakuzu said, ideas clinking in his head like golden coins. Kisame laughed and threw Yani over his shoulder.

"Bye guys," she sang, laughing, "visit soon!"

"Bye Yani," they Hidan and Diedara cried out while Kakuzu waved.

As soon as they were outside, Kisame smacked his head in annoyance.

"Ugh, I forgot something. I'll be right back." He walked back into the temple, leaving Itachi and Yani alone. Yani was staring at the sky when she felt Itachi's warm body press against her back. He gently took the arm that was cut and bandaged it, his chin on top of Yani's head the entire time. When it was done, he moved back still holding on the Yani's wrist to inspect it.

"Don't do that unless you have to," he finally murmured, looking up to find Yani's shocked eyes a beautiful hazel color.

"Why?" she said, not taking the wrist away from his hand.

"Because you scared me." He raised the wrist to his mouth, and kissed it, just as Yani had kissed his palm.

"Here we are," Kisame said as they neared towards the outskirts of the village. The lake that they were standing near rippled in the slight breeze. The entire world seemed peaceful. Motioning for them to wait, she walked over to the lake and dipped her hands into the water. When she drew them back, she had two of the iced light flowers.

"If you ever need me, put these in water, even a teardrop. I'll come." Itachi and Kisame each took a flower and put it in their pockets. Kisame reached out and bear hugged Yani, receiving giggles. When she was dropped on the ground again, she turned to Itachi, who tapped under her eye lightly and smiled. She reached up to her face and gently touched Itachi's hand, which folded over hers. "Promise you'll come and visit?"

"As soon as possible." Yani was about to say something when Itachi's eyes widened and heard Kisame's sharp intake of breath.

A kunai, bearing an explosive tag, lodged into the ground beneath them and exploded, scattering chunks of rock and dust everywhere.

Itachi tucked Yani to his front and buried his face in her hair, shielding her from the explosion. In spite of the dire situations, his heart skipped a beat when he realized he was holding Yani.

_I must have a cold,_ he idly wondered and scolded his heart for acting so irregularly, too scared to admit the other alternative. He scooped up Yani and jumped clear of the obscurity of the dust, onto the lake. Quickly, he ran out to the middle of the lake and nodded to Kisame, who was waiting there for him. In one smooth movement, she twisted out of Itachi's arms and landed on her feet, like a cat, facing the clearing explosion. When the debris cleared, Guy, Asuma, Kurenai, and Kakashi were standing opposite of them. A snarl ripped out of Kakashi's throat, surprising even Guy.

"_If you bastards touch her, you die!_" Kisame smirked.

"A fight? Finally." Just as he was about to unwrap his sword, Yani stepped forward and cocked her head, as if listening to something. Even Asuma, who had the worst hearing of them all, heard the whisperings from below them, from deep within the ground. Kakashi paled as he listened and Itachi's eyes widened as understanding clicked inside his head. Yani nodded curtly.

"This fight is not to happen." Yani said, taking another step forward, her voice oddly business-like. "I am the Alpha Female, founder of the true Justice of the Wild. The gods, especially my dark lord, do not care for it. My guests are to return to their stronghold, unharmed. If you persist, I shall mete out what punishment I believe you deserve." Itachi put a hand on his partners elbow when he realized Kisame was about to attack anyway.

"She's serious, Kisame," he murmured, "can't you feel her chakra?" He was right. It was starting to leak out of her control, the barest amount. But even that tiny trickle was enough to start steaming the water around Yani, blurring her figure slightly.

"Is this some kind of joke?" Guy burst out. In the next second, he, Asuma, and Kurenai had all jumped to attack Itachi and Kisame.

"No!" Kakashi cried out, "Guy!" There was a brilliant flash of light as half of Yani's chakra unleashed from its bindings. Kurenai, Asuma, and Guy were blasted back and as the light and as Kakashi, Itachi, and Kisame got used to the light, they stared, not comprehending what they were seeing.

Yani's chakra had compressed to almost a solid shape, a pair of angel wings, almost as tall as she was.

The power was enormous. Around her, the water was boiling and steaming. Even though it was still in the afternoon, the moon was shining alongside the sun, sweeping the clouds out of the sky. The trees around the lake burst into bloom, a week earlier than they were supposed to. Kakashi rushed over to help his companions up.

"We have to leave now!" he said frantically, giving Kurenai a hand.

"What do you mean? Just talk to her! I'm sure—"

"Don't you remember what I said?" Kakashi interrupted, making Guy close his mouth with a snap, "If we don't leave before she utters the first command, we're going to die! She doesn't have control over her actions anymore; she's not Yani! —"

"Leave now or face your punishment."

"Those are Akatsuki members! You want us to retreat instead of fight? This isn't you Kakashi!"

"_This won't be a fight! It will be a bloodbath!_"

"_**Kneel**_."

The very word was as searing as fire, and their blood blistered as soon as it was spoken. They all slammed down to their knees, not of their own volition, but because of the power riding in her voice. All of them struggled as hard as they could, but in vain. They could not move their bodies. All of them, that is, except Itachi. He was very still, staring at Yani's slim form and sleek wings.

Around her, the dark mist from her clothes started to rise, leaving them dull, and curled around her like a snake. On the near shore, a pack of wolves trotted out, tongues hanging out of their smiling mouths as they panted in eagerness. She took several steps to them and the entire pack broke out into a howl, making her mouth curve in the slightest smirk.

"Kakashi! Is there anyway to stop her?" Kakashi turned to Guy.

"No, we're screwed."

"There has to be someone who can stop her!" Kurenai burst out. Kakashi shook his head.

"There is one, I think, but nobody here can, I'm pretty sure."

"What do you mean, 'pretty sure'? Who can stop her?" Kakashi hesitated before speaking.

"I'm not sure if this is true, but I think her designated soul mate can stop her, or at least someone who is a potential soul mate." There was a stunned silence before Guy spoke again.

"Her… soul mate? Did she tell you this?" Kakashi shook his head again.

"No, she knows as little as I do. But her soul mate is her other half. I'm guessing he would be able to at least restrain her." There was another shocked silence. "In other words, we're screwed."

By this time, the wolves had stopped howling and were anxiously waiting for Yani's first move. She turned to Kakashi's group and smiled.

"You should have left, humans." She smiled even wider. "I would let you go, but the Alpha Female must feed her pack, and I promised them their dinner." Suddenly, she raised her hand and the dark mist unwound from her body, forming into a deadly looking spear. "Well then, tell my dark lord I send my greetings when you get to the Underworld."

She flicked her wrist, waiting for the blood to splatter.

A crimson drop landed on her nose and her eyes widened in absolute shock, changing from a red color to a hazel. Once again, Itachi's warm body was pressed against hers. But this time, his right arm was taut from the strain of holding the end of the spear, his hand and forearm running with his blood.

"Yani," he murmured, his voice low, "snap out of it. It's time to come back." The spear turned back to mist in his hand and settled into Yani's clothes. With his clean hand, he gently wiped the drop of blood of Yani's nose. "There we go. That wasn't so bad, was it?" The chakra wings silently folded back into her body, making the water stop boiling and steaming. "Okay, time to let go of everybody else. Go on, Yani, set them free." Guy, Asuma, Kurenai, Kakashi, and Kisame all stumbled to their feet. "There's a good girl."

It seemed like she had returned, except her eyes were still wide open and staring down into the water, as pitch-black as tar. Itachi bent down to look into her eyes. "Yani, time to come back. Come on, I'll make you some tea when we get back to your house. Then, we—" He started to cough, blood coating the sleeve that he had covered his mouth with. It was only then did Yani's eyes look up. She raised her hand to his throat, covering it lightly and hummed the same melody she had before to stop the coughing. Suddenly, her head snapped back and she started to hyperventilate.

"What did I— what— I—"

Itachi wound one arm around her waist and pulled her to him. He shivered inwardly, getting the same feeling he had before, of her fitting perfectly together with him.

"Breathe," he purred in her ear, her head nestled at the base of his throat. She calmed, breathing in his scent.

_Burnt coffee_, she thought, staring to breathe normally again, _and snow_. And abruptly, she was exhausted.

"Go ahead." She looked up, confused. Itachi looked calmly back. "I know you're tired. Go to sleep. I'll take care of this. And I won't leave you alone. You won't wake up by yourself in the dark."

She simply collapsed. By the time Itachi scooped her up, carrying her the way he had first carried her, she was asleep.

He barely had time to hold up a kunai before Kakashi collided with him, a kunai of his own in his hand.

"Take her away," he whispered fiercely, "and don't come back. She helped you to escape, so she'll be classified as an outlaw, even if I vouch for her." Itachi nodded. "And please—" his voice broke, "Please take care of her. You stood when she told us to kneel. Only her soul… only someone very special can do that. Defend her with your life. Please." With that, he leaped away with a clash of steel.

Itachi wasted no time, but turned heels and ran.


	9. So Is It Two Way, This Feeling?

Chapter 8

She slipped a little out of her dark sleep when Itachi gently shook her.

"You've been asleep for two days, Yani, you have to drink this," she heard. So she opened her mouth and drank the cool water. Then, rough hands and strong arms lowered her back onto a mat that smelled like burnt coffee and snow. She continued to sleep.

The next time she woke up slightly, it was next to a warm body. She tried to move closer, but found she was too weak to move. But the same strong arm and rough hand that had held her before drew her closer to the body, as if they understood her intentions. She drifted off to sleep again.

She woke up for a third time when she heard voices.

"Is she okay? She's been asleep for five days now."

"She's fine."

"Itachi, you have to eat, too, even if you're worried."

"I'm not worried. And I'm fine."

"When will she wake up?"

"When she's done healing."

"But she has no wounds on her."

"I wasn't talking about her body. I was talking about her heart." The conversation blurred out as she went back to sleep.

And suddenly, she was wide-awake, staring up at a ceiling that was bathed in streaks of moonlight. She was aware of a rough hand stroking her hair, occasionally brushing her cheeks.

"Are you awake now?" Yani's eyes flickered upwards. Itachi sat right next to her head, looking out the window into the expanse of stars.

"Yeah," she answered quietly, stretching. After a while, she tried to sit up. The rough hand moved away, not helping her up. She was grateful; she wasn't used to being so weak. Eventually, her chest was upright, though her head was spinning. She heard a rustle and saw Itachi come into her peripheral vision.

"Here." A cup of water came into view. Yani shook her head. "You have to drink something. You're going to get sick." He exhaled heavily when she shook her head again and moved the cup right against her mouth, curving an arm mildly around her back. "Drink. That's an order," he growled sternly, looking straight into her black and light-blue eyes. She flinched slightly and then drank a little, too tired to scowl. After, he put the cup down, he turned back to study her.

"Come on, let's go outside," he said, when he saw the longing glances she threw at the open window. When he interlaced their fingers together, his heart fluttered. Ignoring the feeling, he helped Yani slowly stand, stifling a sigh when she shook away his hand. Faster than he would have liked, she walked outside, frail in the moonlight. Almost on an instinct, Itachi caught her before she collapsed again.

"What happened?" she asked, when she recovered sufficiently, tapping his badly bandaged hand, making him wince.

"Ahhh…" he answered, looking sheepish, "I grabbed the spear that you made out of the dark mist from your clothes. It slashed and burned my hand, but I haven't had time to wrap it well…" He trailed off as Yani's eyes became wider with each word. She lunged for his kunai pouch, but he dodged just in time, and grabbed her hands, grimacing because of the pain in his right hand.

"No, Yani. You are not cutting yourself over me." She struggled, but in her weakened state, she was no match for Itachi.

"Why won't you let me help you?" she begged, desperate, "This is the only way I know how to help people. This and taking their—" She refused to speak further.

"Taking their what?" She looked away, jerking her wrists out of his grasp. He sighed loudly, looking up at this night sky, running his left hand through his hair. He looked down when he felt her hand touch his injured one. "No, Yani," he said tiredly, drawing his hand away.

"I won't cut myself. I'll do it the regular way." She made a cupping motion with her hands and the water in the air condensed into a large ice bowl, filled with cool water. He didn't protest when she made him sit down on the ground and tugged his hand into the bowl. When the blood-clotted bandages softened enough, she pulled them away gently from his skin. In some places, they had merged into the skin and she had to tug softly for them to come off, making Itachi cringe slightly.

His palm was basically cut to the bone, his fingers close to being mutilated. Blood had clotted over everything but now they were bleeding again.

"I'm surprised you didn't get an infection." Itachi just smiled slightly. But when she started to sing about hearts being mended with time, the smile slipped off his face and was replaced by a thoughtful look. Slowly, the wound closed itself, hiding the white gleam of bone. But without the actual blood, it wasn't the miraculous, scar-less healing that Itachi had seen before. However, only a few deep cuts were left, although they were now bleeding profusely.

There was a weak shimmer of light by her hand and suddenly, fresh, clean, bandages appeared on her outstretched palm. Taking his hand out of the water, she started to wrap it with the lightest of touches. A black pearl landed on Itachi's wounded hand, in the way of the bandaging. Yani brushed it away impatiently, while two others clinked on the ground. When Itachi looked at her face, he was surprised to find it as stoic as his, as if she didn't know she had tears tracing down her cheeks.

"You know, Yani, it's okay to cry." Her eyes flickered up briefly and then settled back onto his hand.

"You don't cry."

"I'm the furthest thing you want to be." She continued to wrap his hand, not responding.

"Hey," she looked up, her face inches away from his. He ignored the pang in his heart again and tapped under her eye. "Don't you think you might get rid of that terrible blackness in your eyes if you cried?"

"I burn the ground to ashes when I cry for real."

"Poor grass." She smiled half-heartedly.

"I didn't know you were funny." He leaned back, matching her smile, while she went back to wrapping his hand.

"Look at me." She was still crying when she looked back up. His rough hand brushed away some tears on her cheek. "Why don't you tell me what's wrong?"

"Because it's none of your concern."

"So what? That just means I won't tell it to anybody else, right?" She hesitated, pulling her head back down.

"…you know when I said I take things from people."

"Yes." Itachi waited for her to go on.

"I take their sadness." She looked back up again, locking eyes with him. "I take whatever little sorrows they have permanently. For those that are grieving, I shoulder the burden. When they harbor something so huge, so hurtful in their heart that I can't take it completely away, I take it temporarily, or a part of it." Reaching out her hand, she curled it over Itachi's heart, which skipped another beat. "I could do it for you. I could make you happy for the rest of your life." She cupped her other hand over his face, getting up on her knees. "I can feel that sadness in your heart. It's black, blacker than anything I've ever felt before. You don't have to feel that way anymore." His eyes were wide, shocked.

Yani started the ritual. "Sing me your life-song, child," she whispered, her eyes still focused on his, and traced a finger down his sharp nose, just as she had for Sasuke, for countless of other people. "Tell me what you can't tell anyone else." She dragged her fingertips gently down his left cheek. "Tell me what despairs you", she said and touched one finger softly to his left eyelid. "And you will be free." But before she could kiss his forehead, Itachi covered her mouth with his hand.

"I'm so sorry, Yani. But I can't let you do this. I can't tell you what I'm feeling. I have to face this sadness alone." With that, he got up and walked away from her, wrapping the rest of the bandage himself.

Kabuto looked up, his head cocked.

"I believe someone is here, my lord." Orochimaru shifted.

"Oh? And who is this someone?" Kabuto hesitated.

"Once again, the presence flickers. Yani, perhaps?" Sasuke stiffened behind Orochimaru's throne.

"Hmmm…" Orochimaru's eyes wandered lazily to Saskue's face, which was stony. "Very well Kabuto, go and escort her here. Make sure no harm falls upon her." Kabuto nodded curtly and walked into the tunnel that led to the main entrance. Halfway there, he met Yani's glowing figure. As he did last time, he bowed mock politely.

"Yani," he acknowledged, holding out his arm. Yani took it, inclining her head. Although there was a smile on her face, her ice-blue eyes were sad.

"Ahhh… Yani," Orochimaru said when they walked into the room, "how nice to see you again." She didn't say anything, only smiled sweetly. "How can I help you today?"

"Can Sasuke take a day off?" she asked, her hands behind her back. Orochimaru turned his head slightly towards Sasuke.

"Would you like to go with her?" Sasuke nodded. Orochimaru thought a bit longer. "Fine." As soon as he said this, Sasuke leaped across the room, scooped Yani up, and ran out of the cave. When they burst out into the open air, the sun was just slipping over the horizon.

"Sasuke, let me—"

"Hush. Not here. I think people are listening," he whispered, interrupting her. He jumped on the nearest branch, traveling that was for a good fifteen minutes. When he landed on the last branch of the forest, Yani twisted out of this grasp, plummeting fifty feet to the ground and landing lightly and soundlessly on her feet. She took off running, slowing down for Sasuke, when he had finally jumped to the ground, landing, of course, not as gracefully as Yani. For another ten minutes, Sasuke followed Yani, hoping he didn't lose her.

Finally, Yani stopped in a field, a little ahead of Sasuke, who tackled her to the ground. When they stopped tumbling over each other, Yani was on top of a smiling Sasuke, their faces closer than they had ever been.

"Did you miss me?" Sasuke asked, lifting an eyebrow.

"Yes!" Yani replied, laughing breathlessly. She rolled off him and nestled into his side. "Oh! You changed your outfit." She said, gently touching his white vest and purple rope belt. He didn't respond but instead tangled his hand into her hair, moving himself closer until their noses were touching.

"Why am I hearing rumors that you're an outlaw ninja now?" Yani would have moved but an arm around her waist and a hand twined into her hair kept her from moving at all. She paled.

"Ummm…"

"Yes?"

"I was protecting members of the Akastuki." Sasuke looked mildly impressed.

"Who?" She scowled as if remembering something unpleasant.

"It's none of you're concern." His gaze narrowed.

"If it has anything to do with you, it's of my concern." She made a noise of disbelief and sat up when his hold loosened.

"Little boy, think about what you're saying before you say it." Suddenly she found herself pinned to the ground, her wrists held above her head. "Careful," she warned to the heavy body above her.

"Wanna know something, Yani?" she could feel his mouth slowly running up the curve of her face. "Don't I remember you telling me that when I was taller than you, someone was going to go out with me?" When she blushed, his mouth curved into a smirk. "Guess who's taller than you now?"

"I said that so you would go to sleep that day," she snapped. He rolled to the ground beside her, letting her sit up.

"Why won't you let me date you?" he asked, his face curious. She sighed, drawing her knees up. The silence stretched onwards.

"After you ask someone out and you start to date them," she started, her chin on her knees, "you really only have two options after that." She turned her head slightly in his direction. "One, you marry that person." Her voice dropped. "Two, you break up." Silence once again filled the air as Yani let Sasuke think. "I don't think we're going to get married. So what's the point of dating if we're going to break up anyway?"

"Didn't you date Kakashi?"

"It was a mistake. He got hurt when we broke up. Hell, I got hurt when we broke up. We were stupid."

"Why didn't you get married to him?" She sighed, reluctant to tell the lengthy story again.

"A long time ago, when I was born, or rather, made, all the gods, took a liking to me. All the gods who weren't married wanted me to be their bride. So did all the gods who were married, but that's beside the point. One day," her voice faltered. "A-Ares raped me. And I couldn't do anything, because he was a god. Hades found me and he took me to the Underworld to take care of me. He was basically the only one who didn't want be for a bride. Then, he put a very powerful blessing on me. He said that if I didn't want to marry someone, I had every right to reject him, because I was already bound to someone, my soul mate. He said I would know who my soul mate was through a series of tests. He would pass every test. If he failed even one, he wouldn't be my soul mate."

"What are the tests?"

"I'm not allowed to tell you." Sasuke leaned back on his hands, thinking about what Yani had said.

"Did I pass any?"

"I'm not allowed to say, unless you pass all of them."

"Did I fail any?" She smiled.

"I'm not allowed to say" A peaceful silence lapsed while Sasuke pondered over what the tests could be.

"Hey Yani?" When she turned Sasuke's lips collided into hers. It was a searing kiss, one that pushed her to the ground under Sasuke. He licked her lower lip, asking her to open her mouth, his tongue tracing patterns in her mouth when she did. Finally, they broke apart, breathing hard.

"Did I pass any now?" he asked, grinning mischievously.

"I can't say," she responded, shaky.

"I'll take that as a yes." With that, he leaned in for another kiss.

"Where are you going?" Kisame asked when he saw Itachi strap on his equipment.

"To the meadow." He put on his coat and picked up his bamboo hat.

"Yani's meadow?" He nodded. "I haven't seen her around in awhile. Did you guys get into a fight?" There was no answer.  
"A lover's quarrel?"

"Funny." Kisame smiled, amused at Itachi's stoic face.

"Don't worry, Itachi. You were always kinder than all of us. She'll forgive you." Kisame's face became thoughtful. "Do you love her?"

"No."

"Then what do you think of her as?" The only sound was the rustle of Itachi's coat as he moved over to the doorway. "Not to sound cliché, Itachi, But I don't think we're allowed to love people or let people love us. Romance doesn't come with the job description."

"I said I didn't love her, didn't I?" Kisame shrugged as Itachi walked out the door of their room.

"Just saying," He called out after Itachi, "you guys would make a perfect couple."

When he arrived at the clearing, he slowed down, moving so that he was barely making a sound. He peered through the dense foliage. Yani was curled up on her side, her back to Itachi's direction. He couldn't see her face, only her long hair spilling to the ground behind her. From where he was standing, Itachi thought he could see the slight shift of her frame as she inhaled and exhaled.

She didn't move when he walked over to her, or sat down next to her.

"Hey," he said, looking at her still form.

"Hey," she replied, not looking around. She didn't say anything else.

"Are you angry with me?"

"No."

"Can you please turn around then?"

"No." Itachi sighed heavily. When she heard that, she turned her torso until she was looking into his eyes, studying him.

"Is your hand okay?" she asked, touching her fingertips to his. His mouth curved upwards into the barest hint of a smile.

"It's fine." She withdrew her fingers, her light blue eyes mixing with swirls of black, as she sat up.

"You're sadder today, aren't you?" He was silent. When she reached for his face, he blocked it with the hilt of his sword. Her hand fell back, her eyes more black than ice blue.

"I'm sorry," he said, "I'm not sure if you realize it, but even if you touch someone without the intention of healing, you take his sadness away. Or at least some of it." Yani turned away from him, curling up back on the ground.

"Hey, come on." Yani settled once more into the steady rhythm of breathing. "Yani." He felt her move slightly away from him. "Yani, usually people avoid pain. Why would you want those of others?"

"Everyone wants to be happy. And everyone wants to be of some use" she whispered quietly, "so why not me? I can be helpful in a way nobody else can. Maybe," her voice dropped to the point where Itachi had to lean forward to hear, "maybe if I take someone's sadness away, they'll learn to love me. And I can also finally be happy."

_ Why is it always love?_ Itachi thought. For the thousandth time, his heart twinged when he looked at Yani's fluid form. _Indigestion, probably, _he said to himself, uneasy, willing himself not to touch her hair, her cheek, anywhere. As the day eased on, the little meadow creaked sleepily in the heat. Itachi could have sworn the trees nearby that shaded Yani moved their branches slightly to keep their shadow evenly over Yani as the position of the sun changed. He remained sitting, leaning back on his hands, running his eyes over her fragile, beautiful form. Then, fireflies blinked on and off as night crept slowly across the sky. Still, Yani remained curled up on the ground, unresponsive to the occasional howls that rang across the sky.

Finally, Itachi saw Yani's body relax, right before dusk, in a natural sleep. Her breaths took on a heavier quality, rattling a little because of the cold. He waited a little and then moved ever so slowly to curl up next to her cold body, keeping her from shivering, but making sure he was not touching her, that only the body heat radiating off him kept her warm. Half the night passed like this, with Itachi studying her tired, sad, and still slightly desperate face in the pale moonlight, really wanting to wrap his arms, legs, _heart_ around her. But finally, he was aware that it was time to go. He carefully moved away from Yani, who had unconsciously moved closer to him while she had been sleeping, and stood up quietly. Then, he took off his coat and tucked it in around Yani. Once again, Yani smiled when Itachi accidently grazed her face with his hand. He, on the other hand, was jolted with a startlingly vivid picture of the ruins of a smoking, bloody village. He quickly jerked his hand away and was about to flee into the forest when he stopped to look at Yani's face. It seemed less… intense… in its sadness.

By the time Yani opened her eyes in the morning, Itachi had been long gone. Her breath steamed in the cool morning air, swirling as the wind picked it up and dissipated it into the air. She was surprised she was not cold; usually on mornings like these, she woke up with blue lips and chattering teeth, but it was much better than sleeping in that huge house alone. Her eyes widened when she smelled the powerful scent of burnt coffee and the airy scent of snow. Her hands felt the blanket draped tenderly around her and recognized it as a jacket. When she brought it to her nose, the heady scent she had smelled before swirled around in her brain.

"Itachi?" she called out, but was greeted by the sound of silence. Her stomach twisted in disappointment, a feeling she hadn't had for a while. She brushed it aside as she stood up, slipping her arms through the jacket, although it was too big on her. "That idiot," she muttered, "forgetting his coat." But she clutched the collar tighter around her, burying her nose in a smell that she wished would whirl around her forever. She shook her head, regaining her senses, and skimmed over to the mansion that was her home. Once she slipped inside, she snatched a couple of items around various parts of the house. Then, she slid out the door, closing it behind her, and started the long walk to the Akatuski base.

"Oh, Yani! Whatcha doin' here, hm?" Yani laughed and hugged Diedara, raising a hand to the chorus of hello's around the table.

"I brought dessert," Yani said, and placed a cake box in the middle of the table. A blue haired girl with multiple piercings smiled warmly at Yani and stood up.

"Hi, my name is Konan, nice to meet you, Yani. I heard so much about you." Two elegant hands shook and the one belonging to Yani automatically went up to Konan's face.

"Nice to meet you, too, Konan. May I…?"

"Of course." Yani's sensitive fingers gently went over her heart shaped face, pausing curiously when she felt the piercings. But before she could continue, Kisame lifted her and crushed her, gently, in a bear hug. "Kisame! I missed you!"

"You didn't visit in a while. I thought that gigantic chakra of yours had been a bluff and you had died somewhere."

"Hah! I wouldn't just _die_ somewhere, silly!" Yani was once again picked up, though not quite so high this time, and hugged.

"Hey, sis," Hidan grinned and set her down, ruffling her hair, "I hope that cake is strawberry flavored."

"It is! I know you like it, so I made strawberry."

"Good girl," Hidan said and gave her one more rub on the head before sitting by the table and starting his dinner again. Just when he let her go, Yani felt stitches wrap around her body and draw her into the arms of Kakuzu, who hugged her briefly.

"Do you need money?"

"No," she said scowling, "do you?"

"My coffer is always open." Yani smiled and handed him a bag of golden coins.

"I recently sold some drawings, and you know me too well," she teased, sticking her tongue out, "you know I don't need money." The stitches tightened around her, Kakuzu's version of a smile, and let go, slithering back into his arms.

"Thank you for the cake, Yani," Konan said serenely. "Would you like some dinner?"

"Ah, no thanks, I don't like steak."

"Who's jacket are you wearing, hm?"

"Itachi's. I meant to give it back to him. Do you know where he is?" The table quieted. Eventually, all of them looked at Kisame, who was his partner, silently choosing him to explain everything.

"Itachi hasn't been… well. He's been coughing a lot more recently and there are dark circles under his eyes. And he didn't get any sleep at all last night because he went _somewhere_," at this point Kisame stared pointedly at Yani, "and came back with a fever and chills. He refused medicine or food. I think he's in his room. I saw him take a couple of apples in there. Stop getting so worried," he said when he saw Yani's pale face, "he'll be fine."

"Is she going to be fine in there? By herself?" Konan said after Yani had bolted.

"Itachi is a gentleman, Konan. She'll be fine." Hidan cut another piece of steak but spit it out when a knife almost hit his face.

Hidan's screams of rage at Diedara faded as Yani ran to Itachi's room. She burst into the room, breathing hard. Itachi was sitting, his back against the wall, calmly peeling apples with a kunai in sweatpants and a gray shirt. But as soon as she came in, he looked startled and worried and stood up. As soon as he did, he clutched his chest in pain and burst out coughing violently. In an instant, Yani was beside him, healing his throat with a brush of her hand and a thrum of her voice. Once again, Itachi caught her before she collapsed.

"When's the last time you ate?" Yani struggled out of his grasp, scowling.

"Why did you leave me your jacket? Now you're sick, aren't you?" Itachi took one look at Yani and had to stifle the almost overpowering urge to kiss her. Her hair was messy, her cheeks, red, and she was almost drowning in Itachi's jacket. She was breathing heavily and her eyes were a crackling deep, angry, blue. In other words, she was absolutely gorgeous. Itachi was just about to smile when he saw other things about her, making the thought of a smile vanish from his mind. The unnatural shine and flickering of her eyes. Her pale and shaking hands. In one step, he was right in front of Yani and pressed his forehead to hers, making her yelp.

"You idiot. You're the sick one," Itachi said gently, straightening up to smooth back her hair. She moved back, clearly shaken. "Get in my bed," Itachi said, walking out the door with the bowl of peeled apples, "I'll be right back. I have to get something." When he entered the kitchen, Kisame and Hidan were also there, eating the rest of the pieces of cake.

"Did Yani find you?" Hidan mumbled around a mouthful of cake.

"That idiot walked all the way to our base with a ridiculously high fever." Both Hidan and Kisame choked slightly.

"What?" Kisame and Hidan exclaimed, swallowing their cake. Itachi fished ice out of the fridge, wrapping it in a towel. Quickly, he cored and sliced the apples, filling another bowl with the slices.

"Make sure everyone is quiet," he said, before clamping a thermometer between his teeth and picking up the iced towel and bowl of apples. When he entered his room again, he was surprised to see Yani actually sitting on his mat. "Good girl," he praised quietly, inserting the thermometer in her mouth, checking it a minute later to find that it read one hundred and five degrees Fahrenheit. "Get under the covers."

"No." The quiet refusal unnerved him more than a screaming one would have.

"Yani, you're going to get cold."

"I don't care."

"If you don't get under the blankets this instant, I'll be forced to transfer body heat in another way," he threatened, "and I don't think you would like it."

"I don't care, stupid." He sighed, the anger going out of him, only to be replaced by worry. He bit into an apple slice, giving the other half to Yani, who ate it quietly.

"Eat the rest," he commanded, placing the bowl in front of her. When he was sure that she was eating, he got a bowl of water from the kitchen and dumped the ice in it along with the towel. "Yani, get under the covers and take off the jacket." She did, to his surprise, putting aside the half eaten bowl of apples. She slid underneath the blankets, facing away from him. He wrung out the now cold towel and folded it in half. "Come here, Yani." There was no response. "Yani." She only pulled the blankets above her head. "Yani!"

When she turned around slowly, Itachi's eyes immediately softened. Her eyes were pitch black, her face streaked with tears.

"Y-yes?" she stuttered. He gently wiped her tears with his thumb and placed the cold towel on her forehead, making sure to cover her eyes.

"Go to sleep Yani, you're sicker than I am." He shifted so that he was leaning against the wall, right by Yani's head.

"Those… you were going to eat those apples, were you? You didn't eat dinner, too."

"Eating dinner is no big deal for me. You looked like you skipped at least three meals."

"Four."

"Even worse." Yani struggled into a sitting position, making Itachi sigh. But he became very still when Yani picked up an apple slice and held it to his mouth.

"Ahhh…" she said, opening her mouth slightly. His thoughts flashed back to the same scene in another time with another girl.

"_Ah, Itachi, you should eat, right?"_

"_Hn." She giggled and nuzzled into Itachi's outstretched arms. Then she held up an apple slice._

"_Here. Ah!"Itachi smiled and bit the apple. "Is it good?"_

"_You tell me." He kissed her roughly, putting one hand under her chin. _

"Itachi?" He snapped out of it, brought back into the current time by that lovely voice. She lowered the apple, her eyes turning back into the heartbreaking mixture of black and light blue. "You just dropped in brightness by a couple of notches. Are you okay?" His eyes focused on her face and suddenly, he smiled. "Okay… now it just got brighter."

"Yeah, I'm fine." He wrapped his fingers around her wrist and raised the apple again so he could bite into it.

_I'm not going to let her die. It's a different time, Itachi, snap out of it_, he thought. _She's here with you right now. Don't let her go_.

She shifted her hand towards him, but thought better of it and retracted her hand, instead, pushing the bowl closer to him and laying down on the mat. Instead of covering herself with the blanket, she took the jacket and pulled it up to her nose, looking pensively at the wall.

Itachi noticed that she wasn't even bothering to close her eyes and go to sleep.

"I told you to go to sleep." Just then, Kisame walked inside the room.

"Hey guppy, you okay?" Yani smiled, still staring at the wall.

"Yea. Can you sleep with me? I can't sleep in a closed area without someone else."

"Sure, come here." Yani leaped into his outstretched arms. Itachi thought nothing of the roaring jealousy in his chest and say on his now vacant bed, eating the rest of the apples.

The night went on and her breathing settled into its quiet rhythm, barely audible over Kisame's snoring. In the half-light, he say that she still held the jacket to her nose, He walked over to her and slowly drew the jacket away from her fingers, covering her with the blanket. But as soon as he say back down, Yani started to whimper. Alarmed, he gave her back his jacket, stunned to see her quiet down immediately when she unconsciously moved it to her face. He took it away again, replacing it with Kisame's jacket. She whimpered again, this time louder. He replaced Kisame's jacket with on of this own shirts, fresh from the laundry. She quieted down bust still had a panicked expression. Then he took off the shirt he was wearing and gave it to her.

He almost laughed when she smiled in content and nuzzled it.

"So is it two way, this feeling?" Holding his jacket to his nose, he inhaled. It was **his** jacket, so of course he picked up his own scent. But the other scent woven into his clothes almost made him weak-kneed. It was mint and rain, almost like the forest on a rainy day. The scent wrapped around him, faint. He desperately wanted to know what a strong scent would be like. Itachi lowered himself onto the ground, still clutching the jacket to his nose.

_I should go to sleep_, he thought, _I haven't slept in awhile._ But he couldn't stop himself from looking at Yani, studying her face once again.

Suddenly, a wolf howled right outside and she jerked awake. The wolf howled again and Yani lurched to her feet, leaping over Kisame. She stood stock-still in the middle of the room, as if sensing the atmosphere of the world. Her body relaxed and she slowly started to move towards the door.

"Where are you going?" She flinched, startled. When she turned around, Itachi was standing with his arms crossed.

I… have to go somewhere."

"You're still sick. Why don't you rest?" He felt her eyes on him, trying to see if she could trust him.

"Kakashi is having one of his… bad days." Itachi raised his eyebrows. "He needs somebody." With a few steps, Itachi crossed over to Yani and put a hand on her forehead. He didn't want to let her go. Of course he didn't. She still had a fever and she still looked tired. But he couldn't say anything to those bright blue eyes, sprinkled with a rich gold color.

"Wait here for a second." He rummaged in his closet and came back with a grey scarf. He put his coat on her and buttoned it. Reaching closer to her, he wrapped the scarf around her neck, gently tucking it in the jacket. "Don't over exert yourself, okay?" His fingers lingered near her cheek for a moment, lightly skimming over the skin. Then, he shoved his hands into his pockets and smiled. When she turned around, he didn't see her dazed eyes and the bright blush that stained her cheeks.


	10. Happiness Runs

Chapter 9

After running all night; Yani finally reached Kakashi's condo just as the first rays of the sun were spilling across the lawn.

"Kakashi?" she called out, opening the front door. The room was dark, the blinds drawn. Yani stepped in and closed the door, eliminating the last light source in the room. She sniffed and followed the scent of red autumn leaves into the bedroom, which was also pitch-black. In the corner, Kakashi sat with his knees drawn up, his head down. "Kakashi?" There was no response.

She gently kneeled where he was sitting, putting one hand on his silver hair. He stirred, turning slightly towards Yani's direction. Her hand ran through his hair, the other on taking off his mask and forehead protector.

The door opened and she heard Asuma and Guy walk in.

"Ahhh…" said Guy, walking closer, "that's what I thought." Asuma set down a bag on the table.

"It's his dinner." Asuma lit a cigarette. "Tell him we came by." Yani nodded and turned to them.

"Sorry for…" Asuma waved a hand.

"It's fine. We should have listened to Kakashi."

"And that Itachi guy stopped you anyway. He might not be as bad as he looks." Yani smiled, happy that she had been forgiven. "Kakashu tried to explain what happened but the council still voted you as an outlaw for helping two Akatsuki members escape. I'm sure helping Sasuke had something to do with that, too."

"Will you still help us, when the time comes?" Asume asked, blowing a cloud of smoke.

"I will be loyal to the village."

"Good." Guy stretched and beckoned to Asuma. "We'll stop by later after we're done with our missions. They walked out the door, leaving the silence undisturbed."

"Hey, Kakashi, remember that time I completed the ritual on you? How much you telled at me? Are you going to yell at me if I do it again?" Yani moved in front of Kakashi, putting both hands on his head. "I don't have to do the entire thing again, since my soul is familiar with yours already. So I can just directly take the sadness away. Should I do it?" Yani didn't wait for a response. Instead, she kissed him on the lips, mildly.

"Sing," she whispered against his lips, drawing her hands away from his head. Following her hands was a trail of black mist. It settled onto her clothes, making them shimmer brightly.

As if a veil had been lifted from his eyes, Kakashi loked up, his face alive again.

"Yani?" she smiled weakly.

"Hey." He put one hand on her cheek.

"What are you doing here?"

"Ahh…" she said half-heartedly. Finally, he noticed her dull, lifeless eyes and the black pearls littered by his feet.

"Please don't tell me you performed the Moon Song."

"Okay, I won't tell you." But before Kakashi could protest or even say anything, Yani slammed her lips into his. Kakashi could taste the lust in her cool mouth and moaned. "Don't say anything," Yani murmured, licking his ear. "Just… don't."

She kissed him again, sliding her hands underneath his shirt.

The coolness of night finally brought Kakashi out of his exhausted slumber. Beside him, Yani's naked body shifted slightly to the rhythm of her deep breathing. Leaning over, he placed a trail of light kisses down her back; she didn't stir. Slowly, so that he wouldn't disturb her, he climbed off the bed and covered her with the Akatsuki jacket, his face slightly tinged with sadness when Yani snugged into it, smiling faintly. The doorbell rang and Kakashi pulled on sweatpants over his boxers.

"You're feeling better, huh?" Kakashi opened the door so that Guy and Asuma could come in, the latter bearing a packet of papers, which was handed to Kakashi.

"Just standard missed-day stuff." The silver-haired man nodded his thanks to Asuma.

"It looks like you had some violent make-up sex," Asuma chuckled, pointing at the bite marks and bruises along Kakashi's neck and down his shoulders.

"It wasn't make-up sex. This was for her. She's getting worse."

Guy joined back into the conversation once he knew there was to be no more inappropriate talks.

"How so?"

"She's getting sick more often. Her eyes are blacker now than any other color. I'm not sure how much more she can take."

"Before what?"

"That's the thing, I have no idea. But I would assume that she would collapse under all this sadness."

"Perhaps the Uchiha can help her?" Guy suggested, frowning when Kakashi didn't respond. "Raw nerve?"

"So I'm guessing you're just going to let him take her from you?" Asuma asked, raising an eyebrow.

"It's not that simple. Apparently, the gods set up certain criteria that her soul mate must have. Or he fails the test."

"Hoops for you to jump through." Kakashi smiled wryly at Asuma's statement.

"I've already stumbled." Guy whistled.

"So even the great Kakashi falls short."

"Heh." Suddenly, Kakashi turned around and listened. "You guys should go. Yani's crying."

"We'll let ourselves out," Asuma said to Kakashi's back.

Inside the room, the sounds of teardrops hitting fabric and pearls clacking on the floor drew him to Yani.

"Love?" He sat on the bed next to her, using one hand to wipe away the shining streaks on her face. "It's getting worse, isn't it?" Yani shook her head. "Don't you dare lie to me. I don't understand why you can't give me some of your sad—" She shook her head again, this time, violently.

"You help by just being there, Kakashi." Her voice was muffled by the pillow. He sighed and slid a hand over her stomach, her creamy skin warm to the touch.

"Kakashi?" He straightened the jacket that was covering her, but did not answer. "If anything happened to me, what would you do?"

"Don't say stupid things." Yani chuckled.

"Dogs are such loyal animals." She reached up and ran her fingers through his silver hair. "But that's where you and I differ. Wolves mourn and move on. Civilization has softened you."

"Once again, don't say stupid things." Her eyes focused on his face, still as black as the middle of the night.

"But really, Kakashi, what would you do?"

"…Honestly, I don't know." There was a silence. Finally, Yani smiled.

"If I die, or I disappear, that means I'm happy where I am. I want you to move on, okay? Get married. Name your first-born after the moon. Understand?" He leaned closer to her and kissed her forehead, growling low in his throat.

[I hope this doesn't mean you're leaving me soon.]

"I don't know. I feel something stirring in the air. Maybe this will be the last time I'll see you."

"Don't."

"I can't stop fate."

"At least let me know that you're safe!" Yani brushed away an angry tear from Kakashi's face.

"How?"

"Every month, send me something, anything. Just so I know it was you." Yani thought of the request.

"Fine. That works." There was another moment of silence.

"Now I'm worried." She laughed, her eyes lightening momentarily.

"Like I said, move on if I am no longer here. I would be upset if you didn't continue with life." When she stood up and stretched, Kakashi put on hand on her hip, white in the bars of moonlight that fell across her sinuous body.

"Where are you going?" She moved away from his touch, pulling on her clothes.

"Away. Like I said, something is stirring. I don't want you to get hurt." She turned around. "I don't want to be the one to hurt you," she said softly.

"I thought you said it wasn't getting worse." Yani swung the coat up on her shoulders and rewrapped her scarf. Kakashi sighed and stood up when it was obvious she wasn't going to answer. "Do me a favor?"

"Depends on what the favor is."

"Stay close to the Uchiha. He'll protect you." He could have sworn he saw Yani's cheeks redden. "Are you… blushing?"

"No!"

"…you are definitely blushing."

"Am not!" And for the first time, Kakashi was not sad that he was handing her over.

"He'll take care of you. I know it."

"I do NOT need to be taken care of." Laughing, he pulled her into a hug, inhaling her scent of mint and rain.

"Please be safe," he whispered and let her go. Before he could draw in a breath, she was gone.

Konan and Diedara were washing dishes when Yani walked in.

"Hey, Yani! Haven't seen you in like, a week, hm?"

"Would you like breakfast?" Konan asked, always the gracious host.

"It's fine, and I was busy Deidara," she responded, sticking out her tongue. Abruptly, the door burst open and Hidan strode in, swearing, while Kakuzu ambled calmly behind him.

"STUPID LEAF NINJA! I'LL FUCKING KILL HIM! LORD JASHIN WILL USE HIM AS A TOLIET SCRUB!"

"Sit," Yani ordered, blood already flowing from her wrist. Hidan say and began licking up the golden stream, stopping every now and then to curse. Once the blood had stopped, Yani put a hand on the base of Hidan's head, which had been severed and then reattached with Kakuzu's stiches.

"He was being stupid," Kakuzu said, as Yani started to sing about autumn leaves floating through a summer sky. When she took her hands away, there was no evidence of a wound.

"I'll kill that bastard," Hidan mumbled, rubbing his neck as Yani wrapped her wrist with a bandage. Kakuzu sighed.

"For the last time, you already killed him."

"I'll kill him in the after-life. Again."

"You're immortal."

"…Oh, just shut up."

"Which Leaf ninja did you kill?" Yani interjected, pulling on Hidan's sleeve.

"The one that kept smoking in my face." Yani's smile slipped off her face and her eyes widened. "What." Hidan asked.

"He used chakra knives?"

"That's what he used to decapitate me, that fucking bastard." When he saw her still form, Hidan scowled. "You didn't have that face with I killed other people. I think you laughed once, Why aren't you impartial this time?" She shook her head, as if to clear it.

"I'm… sorry. He… had… a child...—"

"Why are you acting like this?" Hidan questioned, beginning to get frustrated.

"Perhaps she has emotional attachments," a low voice murmured behind her. She whirled around and felt Itachi and Kisame standing behind her, the latter covered with blood. He flashed his shark smile.

"Sorry for the bloody mess. My baby got hungry." He gestured to the sword he had strapped on his back. It wriggled and made tiny mewling sounds.

"As I was saying," Itachi continued, "emotional attachments have no side." He hooked his fingers into the back of Yani's – his – jacket. "There's my jacket." When he smiled, Yani blushed almost imperceptibly. "You want some apples?" She nodded and followed Itachi's much taller figure down the hall.

"Do you feel… a vibe, hm?" Konan looked at Deidara.

"That's what I felt."

"Itachi claims that he doesn't love her." Kisame shrugged when they looked at him, incredulous. "Hey, just telling you what he told me."

"He sure doesn't act that way." Hidan snarled.

"Stop being so protective," Kakuzu stated, idly jingling the coins in his pocket. Once again, Kisame showed his teeth.

"I, for one, hope they get together," Kisae whispered, looking in the direction of the hallway. "Yani's power alone can destroy several villages. And Itachi already destroyed his own. So what if she had Itachi by her side?"

"World domination," all five of them said at the same time.

"This is gonna be fun, yeah!"

In the room, Itachi sat on the floor and started to peel the apples as he did the other day. He looked up when he noticed Yani's eyes on him.

"Is something wrong?" She shook her head. Suddenly, she moved closer to him.

"Can you smile again?" His mouth curved up slightly, the smile almost non-existent. "That doesn't count as a smile." Shrugging he went back to peeling the apples.

"I can't just smile on command." Yani pouted and threw an apple slice at him, which he caught in his mouth. Immediately, her sullen face transformed into bright eyes.

"Do it again!" she exclaimed, lobbing another slice at him. Obediently, Itachi caught it with his mouth. When she laughed, his beautiful, whole-hearted smile appeared. Abruptly, the laughter subsided. "Why did you smile then?"

"You're so easily amused. It's funny." He dodged the apple slice that was aimed at his head, still smiling. "I don't mean it in an insulting way," he said soothingly, pulling her wrist when she tried to stand up. "I like it how you're easily amused. It's cute." Yani flushed, scowling.

"Actually," he mused, his face thoughtful, "it reminds me of the way wolves laugh at everything."

"…And how is it that you know this about wolves?" she asked, her eyes curious.

"No particular reason." The emotion shut out of his eyes and his face morphed back into its regular, aloof look.

"Tell me!"

"I just told you. For no particular reason."

"Liar."

"So what?" She nodded, understanding.

"Thou shalt not lie. Unless it will protect someone. In that case, thou shalt tell tales, yes?"

"So you like, too?" Yani shook her head.

"I'm terrible at it. People just get hurt when they figure out that I am lying to them." A sad smile placed itself on her face. "Kakashi does that. He lies to me. He says he's fine." There was silence as Itachi continued to peel apples. "You can take your stuff back now."

"You can have it. I have extra."

"I'll borrow it next time."

"All the more reason for you to keep it."

"Please, take it back." Itachi noted a certain quality of desperation in her voice and looked up. Understanding clicked in his eyes when he could not trace his own scent on the coat of scarf.

"Keep the scarf. We'll trade every three days, okay?"

"Okay," she said, reassured. She flinched when Itachi place his cool fingers under her chin.

"Your eyes have been more black than any other color, you know," he commented quietly. She slapped his hand away from her face.

"Why is everybody saying that?" I'm fucking fine!" she snarled, her eyes till a tarry black. And with that, she bolted out of the room.

"Kakashi-sensei!" He started at the sound of Sakura's voice.

"Hm?"

"It's not like you to zone out, especially in the middle of a meal, Sensei!" Naruto nodded his agreement at this.

"Yeah, Sensei! Usually, you look for distractions so you can eat without showing us your face!" Naruto added. "You weren't like this when Yani was here!"

"By the way, where is Yani? I haven't seen her in a month." Sakura's question was met with silence. "Sensei?"

Kakashi thought about the eagle feather he ahd found yesterday by his frond door, hanging on a golden chain.

"To tell you the truth… I… I don't know." Naruto stopped eating.

"You mean she disappeared?" he asked softly. Kakashi nodded.

"I haven't seen her for a month. I just know she's safe, that's it." Sakura smiled.

"As long as she's safe, it's fine, right?" Neither Kakashi nor Naruto answered.

"Don't worry, Sensei. Onee-san can take care of herself." Naruto's half-smile evaporated when his teacher shook his head.

"No, she can't, because she cares about others more than she cares about herself. And that's what worries me."

On the way to his condo, Kakashi was still immersed in thought.

"If she disappeared, then… then…" Kakashi didn't want to say the rest of the sentence, but he forced himself to spit the words out of his mouth. "She's… happy… with the Uchiha," he murmured. The sky rumbled above him, lightning streaking momentarily. "But as long as she's safe…" He opened his front door and stepped inside just as the thunder roared and sheets of rain began to fall. "As long as she's safe, it's fine." A knocking resounded through the house.

When Kakashi opened the door, he found a pair of red eyes looking back at him.

"I can't find Yani," Itachi said.


	11. Freezing Death

Chapter 10

"What?"

"She disappeared about a month ago. Sometimes she goes away by herself for a couple of weeks but she has never been gone this long before."

"Have you tried searching for her?"

"Of course I have! I went everywhere I thought she would be, but I still can't find her. I tried to track her through her scent but her trail's gone. I came here to ask if maybe you could find her." But Kakashi was shaking his head before Itachi had finished his sentence.

"Don't you know what she smells like?"

"Like mint. And rain."

"You realize it's pouring outside and the forest is nearby, right? There's mint and rain practically everywhere now."

"I can't just stand here and wait!" There was a silence as Kakashi looked up at the stormy sky.

"Ask the wolves," he said quietly. "That's how my teacher found her."

"Come with me."

"I can't."

"I thought you cared for her."

"Goddamit! Don't you understand? Of course I cared for her! I still care for her! I'm a dog; I'm supposed to be loyal! If I gave responsibility to you, don't you think I have a good reason?" Itachi blew out a breath and pushed back his wet hair.

"You're right... I'm sorry." Kakashi sighed.

"Anyway, the wolves would tear me apart if they saw me again." He chuckled darkly. "They don't like it that a dog watches over their Mistress. You have a better chance then I do." He pointed to the forest on his right. "That's where they usually are." With a nod of thanks and farewell, Itachi started in the forest's direction. "Oh, and Uchiha?" Itachi turned to Kakashi. "This is the last time I'll be speaking to you. I told you to protect her. The next time you come to me, I'll kill you." With that, the silver-haired ninja shut the door to the darkness.

The minute that Kakashi had said 'wolves', Itachi had relaxed. He knew wolves. As soon as he stepped into the forest, he felt something watching him. Instead of moving on, he waited patiently. Within minutes, a silent ring of wolves surrounded him.

"Take me to the girl concealed in your woods." The wolves stirred in restless surprise when they realized they understood him. One of the wolves yipped.

[Prey should not talk to its predators.]

"I didn't ask for a life lesson." The pack growled, but parted for a single wolf. He stepped closer to Itachi.

"We art not thy average wolves, human." Itachi flinched when he heard the leader talk. Suddenly, the wolf in front of him turned to smoke. "No, we could kill thee." Itachi whirled around and caught the sight of the leader's tail before it dissolved in smoke. "Easily." Before he knew it, the leader tackled him to the ground and stood over him

"Kill me after you have taken me to the girl." The wolf studied him and dissipated into smoke.

"Brave," his voice echoed from somewhere. Itachi sat up. The pack was silent. "But do not call our Mistress a 'girl'. She is easily worth more than thy life."

"I know." After a pause, the wolf reappeared.

"So thou wit." Itachi nodded. "Interesting choice of words," the wolf said, slowly circling him.

"I need to find the girl. I worry for her."

"She is safe."

"Bodily, maybe. But her soul is overburdened." The pack rustled uneasily, clicking their jaws.

[How dost the human wit?]

"I can feel it." Yelps of surprise rose from the pack. With a bark, the leader silenced the crowd of wolves.

"Dost thou care for my Mistress?" Itachi did not answer. "Thine silence is answer enough."

"Some emotions cannot be translated into words."

"If our Mistress died, what would thee do?"

"Eat her," Itachi responded, calmly and immediately, "and then kill myself." The pack howled in approval as the leader laughed, his tongue hanging out.

"Very well, human, follow us if thee canst." Each wolf jumped up to a branch in a tree, the lowest being fifteen feet off the ground, and took off. Itachi jumped up and followed them.

Their speed was incredible. They jumped from branch to branch, all the while playfully nipping and barking at each other.

"It is interesting that thou canst keep up, human. Thither was only one other time a human kept up and it was because the gods and our Mistress hath destined it to be."

"I am an altered human." The wolf laughed openly.

"And I be an altered wolf. Listen carefully, human, for my story hath the answers I believe thou seek. A long time ago, I was not altered. But we found our Mistress crying in the woods and took the sadness that burdened her. And so, we gained these exceptional abilities to be able to protect her."

"You all… took the sadness from her?"

"No, not all of us. I did. I possessed qualities that made me able to take the sadness. I received the power and some of it trickled into the pack." Itachi remembered the image of the village ruins he had received when he had accidently grazed Yani's hand.

"How do you take the sadness from her" The leader cackled again.

"If thee want it bad enough, it shall come." They traveled in silence for a while, the only sound being the thunder and pattering rain. "It is strange that thee canst speak human words, but we can understand thou."

"I am strange," Itachi agreed.

"Look into my eyes, human." He looked to his left and saw that the wolf's eyes were a shockingly familiar color of ice blue. "Art these eyes not the eyes of my Mistress when she is sad?"

"Ice," Itachi murmured, "as sharp as pain, yes."

"But what art the color of her eyes when she cannot hold the burden?"

"Black. Deadened tar. Desperate as the eyes of soldiers long gone."

"Good. The pain she bequeathed to me was accidental. Now, her defenses have increased hundredfold. She will not give it to any man or beast, even if they possess the qualities. What little I took was not even enough to darken my eyes to the soulless black my Mistress carries. I regret I could not take more. It will be difficult if thee desire to take it from her, as I believe is thy intention."

"As you said before, I am desperate enough to take it." The leader dropped to the ground, along with Itachi. When he looked up, the pack had made a circle around him again. Sitting on his haunches, the leader gazed at Itachi and snickered.

"What song dost thou howl, young human, who loves my Mistress?" Wolves around him started to howl in parts of the song.

[Who canst understand and be understood?]

[Who wit his way through the contrary woods?]

[Who be naught wolf, but sings as we?]

[Oh tell us, human. We prithee.]

"Can you keep a secret from you mistress?"

"If it shall not harm her, yes."

"I howl to thee thine endless nights

And blackened walls and terrored flights

Of retribution and bloodlusts fed

I sing the song of thy living dead."

At the last word of his sentence, every single wolf bowed low to the ground to him, including the pack leader.

"Then there is not use holding anything back from you, Son of the Dark Lord," the leader said, after the pack had settled down. "My Mistress is dying, as I believe thee know. She hides, perched on the top of this pine." He gestured to a tree on his left with his muzzle and stood up. A wolf in the pack called out.

[She does not act like a true wolf should and instead, hides in trees. Remind her to howl her song to the sky.] The leader faced Itachi.

"Save her, if thee can!" With a final howl and unearthly laugh, the leader took off, the pack streaming behind him.

The closer Itachi came to the pine tree, the louder Yani's floating, lilting voice became.

"Tell me your secrets, my friends and foes  
Impart me your darkness, sing me your woes" 

He reached the bottom of the tree and looked up. In the darkness, Yani's voice continued.

"I don't want joy, let your light be  
Give me your terrors, fling them at me" 

Quietly, trying not to make a sound, he jumped on the nearest branch, holding his breath when it creaked. The voice went on, unperturbed.

"I'll take your sadness, your terrible news  
Your specters, your stories, your shadowy hues" 

His fingers tightened on the next branch as he pulled himself up.

"Place them in coffins, bury them deep  
Stay by your side in the dark while you sleep" 

The storm seemed to have intensified. It howled around the tree, trying to snatch Itachi into its clutches as he climbed upward.

"I'm different from you, unaffected by such  
Worldly matters like sadness or trust" 

When he reached the top, he saw Yani's sitting on a branch, facing the rest of the forest.

"So don't be afraid of the darkness you feed  
I'll be there with you whenever you need" 

Suddenly, Itachi felt much happier, unnaturally so. A black mist was starting to rise around the town and race towards Yani.

"Yani?" he called out. When she turned around, what he saw almost broke his heart. She was trembling violently and she was pale. Under her eyes were dark circles. But her eyes were what tore into him the most. They were so dark that her pupils were indistinguishable from her irises.

"This isn't the place for you, human," she said quietly.

"This isn't the place for you either, Yani." She smiled, her eyes un-focusing.

"I make people happy here."

"You don't make me happy." And it was true; the unnatural happiness was gone, replaced by sadness and another emotion he did not want to acknowledge.

"Well, the betterment of the majority is more important."

"When was the last time you ate or drank? The last time you slept?" She giggled eerily.

"I eat despair and drink from the biter chalice of woes." She giggled again. "As for sleeping, I have others' nightmares. What do I need sleep for?"

"You're killing yourself, Yani," Itachi said softly. She quieted and her face became cold.

"And?" Itachi thought to what the wolf had said.

"_If thee want it bad enough, it shall come."_

_Do I really want it bad enough?_ he thought, thinking of the ruins he had seen from the one memory he had received from Yani. But when he looked at Yani's shaking body and exhausted eyes, his resolution solidified. _Yes,_ he thought, _yes I do_.

With absolutely no hesitation, he gently slid his hand into Yani's.

"Give it to me." At his words, a thick, black rope tied his wrist and Yani's wrist together. Immediately after, Itachi was hit with image after gory image of death. He didn't resist but instead, invited more and more of the memories to rush into him. Hundreds of villages rushed by, the smell of burnt flesh in the air. Thousands of children died before his eyes, all begging to be saved. Millions of people were killed, without his being about to do anything.

Suddenly, he felt a wall slam into his vision and he felt Yani start to struggle. He just held on to her hand harder and brushed away the wall impatiently. More detailed pictures started to flood into his mind. Children with their entrails pulled out slowly. Women being raped and having their body parts cut off. But just as he saw a slight, black haired girl with ice blue eyes being raped, he felt Yani bite through the rope and the image evaporated before he could receive the memory.

Yani's hand collided with his cheek so hard, that he almost lost his balance and fell off the branch. Then, almost instantly, it was back on his cheek, cradling, making sure he didn't succumb to his dizziness and nausea.

"What. The. HELL. Do you think you're doing?"

"Saving you," Itachi murmured, putting a hand to his forehead. The images were still spinning around in his head.

"Give it back."

"No."

_**Give it back.**_ This time, her voice was laced with overwhelming power. When Itachi felt the images start to drain out of his head, he grit his teeth and flicked Yani on the forehead, hard.

"Ow!"

"I am not giving this back. I came with the full intention of taking it. When I saw the condition you were in, it only made me more resolute." Yani rubbed her head; her scowling eyes were light blue.

_**Bite me.**_ She offered her wrist, using the voice again, except stronger. Itachi moved towards her but then withdrew, clenching his teeth.

"No."

"Can you just—" And at that moment, sobs racked through Yani's body. "P-please. Let me h-help you," she said, clutching to the front of Itachi's jacket, black pearls dropping to the forest floor below. "This is the only-ly way I know-w how."

Slowly, without saying anything, Itachi started to stroke her hair, running his fingers through the silky strands. She began to calm down, her breathing becoming more even.

"If you want to help," he murmured, "just be safe. Please. That's all that matters."

"W-why does e-e-everyone want-t me to be-e s-safe? Can't t-they see I'm t-trying to protect t-them?"

"Sadness makes people stronger, Yani."

"Sadness t-throws people off track-ck. Like S-sasuke." Itachi was shocked silent.

"That's why you do this to such an extreme degree, right? Because of Sasuke?" Yani nodded, still crying into Itachi's shirt. He wanted to hold her so much right now, but he was afraid of what might happen. What he might feel.

"My stupid, beautiful, fragile songbird," his voice cracked slightly with an emotion he couldn't control for the first time, "Sasuke's like that because of _hate_, not because of sadness." Yani gradually ceased to sob. "So please sing again. The blue sky misses your voice." She hiccupped, the tears still dripping off her face, but much less now.

"H-hush, my darling, sleep-p serenely-y.

Now, my l-lovely, slumber de-e-ep

I will rock-k you, humming lowly-y

Close your e-eyes, now go to sleep

Angels h-hover, ever-r nearer

W-wolves draw in to k-keep you s-safe

I will hold y-you, close enfold-d you

Close your eyes, now go to sleep."

And exhausted by the energy she had spent, she fell asleep in Itachi's arms.

When she woke up, she was in her room.

"Itachi?" She felt the bed next to her. Although he wasn't there, the sheets were warm and his scent lingered in the room. Her hand brushed a piece of paper, the writing on it Itachi's.

"My little songbird." She carefully brushed her fingers over the wet ink. "I'm sorry I let you wake up alone, but I had to go back to the base. I want you to rest today and don't go outside. I'll be back at night to check on you. My jacket is at the foot of your bed, because feathers aren't going to be enough on a day like this. Keep warm, little one, it's snowing outside." She had never felt this happy before.

"He slept the night through with me," she murmured. "He kept away the nightmares." Reaching out, she drew the jacket towards her and used it as a blanket, inhaling the scent of snow and burnt coffee. "I wonder why he smells like that. I'll have to ask him." For the first time, her bed was comfortable as she dozed to make up for the loss of energy yesterday.

Suddenly, she heard ice breaking in her head.

_Yani I need you!_ As soon as she felt the pull of her own energy, she teleported to Sasuke.

"Sasuke? Are you okay?" A hand clapped over her mouth while the other one snaked around her waist. "Suske,vauryoudong?"

"Claiming my property." He kissed her forcefully, covering her mouth again when he stopped.

"Ske! Stp!"

"I don't think I will." He threw her onto his bed, commanding snakes to bind her wrists to the headboard. The familiar taste of fear filled her mouth. She was going to tear the snakes in half when she realized she couldn't move any part of her body.

_Please! Not again!_ Sasuke got closer. _Oh, please! Not again! My gods! Please save me! My Dark Lord, please save me! Please!_ Her stomach quivered as Sasuke licked down her abdomen. _Stop him! Don't do this to me! Don't let me suffer again!_

_SILENCE!_ The voice in her head wiped out her thoughts. _IT IS FATE! BEAR WITH IT!_

When she felt her underwear being pulled off, the gods allowed silent tears to slide down her face.

_I hope Yani listened to me_, Itachi thought. _It's really cold today._ The newly fallen snow crunched under his feet as he made his way closer to Yani's house by moonlight. _I wonder if she had anything to eat?_ In the meadow, everything was white, except for a black splotch in the middle of the field. _I don't remember a rock being there._ He stopped abruptly, sniffing. _Sasuke? And Yani? Shampoo and water._ The length of his steps increased.

It was Yani, her freshly washed hair freezing on the ground, her lips blue, her eyes glazed.

In one bounding leap, Itachi was beside her, scooping her up, bringing her back into her house.

"Get… him… off…" she said almost inaudibly once they were inside.

"Yani, you're safe. He's not here."

"Tear… my skin off… please." He voice was still hard to hear. "I don't want… to live… anymore."

"Don't say things like that, Yani."

"Kill… me… please."

"Let's get you into something warm, okay? You already took a shower, Yani, so he's not on you anymore."

"His… scent…" She started to gasp. "I can't… get… it off…"

"I know, Yani. Let's get you warmed up first."

"Tried to… wash everything off… Everything but… his… smell… is off." He took his jacket and wrapped it tightly around her.

"It's me, Yani. It's Itachi. I smell different, remember?"

"Burnt… coffee… snow…"

"That's right, Yani."

"He… smells… like… fire…"

"Focus on me, Yani." He took off his equipment and stripped out of his shirt and pants until he was in his boxers. "Yani, I'm going to hug you, okay? You're not warming up fast enough." She laughed weakly, he lips still blue and her eyes still glazed over.

"Yeah… right… hug… rape me… too… Don't care…"

"I'm not going to rape you Yani." He took her out of his jacket and pulled her to him on the bed so that she was flush against him.

She was cold, colder than he thought she would be, and she wasn't even shivering.

"Why did you lay down outside, Yani? You should have gone inside and waited for me." She didn't answer. "I would have come, Yani. I'll always come for you." She made a motion of pushing him away. "Not yet, Yani, your hair is still frozen."

"Why… like coffee… your… scent…"

"When I was little, I always wanted to grow up faster. I thought coffee was a sign of maturity, so I always drank that. Up to this day, I always drink coffee morning, noon, and night."

"And… snow…"

"I'm not sure. That might just be my natural scent. Nobody has told me that before." He smiled. "You smell like mint and rain. Why is that?"

"Natural…Always… like… that… Tired…"

"You can't go to sleep, Yani, not until your color is back."

"Want… to… die… so… doesn't matter…"

"No." His voice was firm. "That's an order, Yani. Stay awake." Quickly, he reached over her body and grabbed his bag, fishing out a thermos. Then, he poured a cup of coffee, still hot, and gently raised it to Yani's lips. "Coffee, Yani. It's good. I promise." She took a sip.

"Sweet…" He smiled again.

"I take it sweet." She drank more, her cheeks losing their paleness and her lips turning back to pink. "Good. You look warmer now."

"It's not a big… deal."

"It is to me, Yani." He softly pushed back a lock of her now unfrozen hair. "Do you want to tell me what happened?" She shook her head, burying her face into the hollow of his throat.

"How are you so warm?" He cocked his head.

"Umm… well… the body does something called homeostasis in which it keeps the temperature balanced and—"

"I meant here," she touched the left side of his chest, "in your heart."

"I'm afraid I don't follow."

"You took most of my burden just yesterday. How is it that you aren't cold in spirit?"

"It's… no big deal." The silence was interrupted by the softest sound of a pearl dropping on the bed.

"I'm sorry."

"For what?"

"For every—for crying again."

"Feh. What a silly thing to apologize for." He tucked a strand of hair behind her ear, untangling it as he went along. "It seems like people have told you not to cry." He touched the end of her hair with his fingertips. "Come to think of it, when Hidan told you not to cry a long time ago, you stopped immediately." He propped himself up on one elbow, looking down at her, smoothing her hair. She looked up at him with one eye, still held against his chest. "Go ahead and cry, my little songbird. Crying is singing, too."

As soon as she started to sob, a blizzard struck and shook the entire house.

"See? Look what you were holding back." The windows were white as the force of the blizzard made the windowpanes rattle. Itachi settled back onto the bed, just holding Yani while her body was shaking. "It seems like this blizzard will stay awhile." She pressed closer to him, her crying quieting. "Good thing I told the base I was staying over with you today."

"Itachi?"

"Yeah?"

"Kill me."

"No."

"I'll do it myself later if you don't help me now."

"It seems like you warmed up enough," Itachi said, ignoring her last comment and putting a hand to her forehead. He stood up, covering her back up with his jacket. Slipping on his pants and shirt, he sighed when he saw Yani sitting up.

"Can I paint your nails for you?" She started to laugh when she sensed Itachi's face.

"But… you're… blind." Her teeth flashed in a grin.

"I never said it would be pretty." He blew out a breath, pushing back his bangs.

"Fine. Do you have black nail polish?"

"It's in that cabinet."

"Why do you paint your nails anyway?" she asked, after she had painted his nails.

"It's required if you're on the Akatsuki." He examined his fingernails closely. "And, I was something close to a perfect child when I was little. I guess my rebellious age is coming in now. Hey, you didn't do that bad."

"Heh! You _are_ funny." She looked up at him. "I want to know what you were like when you were little." Automatically, the emotion in Itachi's eyes disappeared and his smiled melted away. He stood abruptly and turned off the lights.

"Go to sleep. It's late." He would have left the room if he didn't see Yani's eyes grow darker. "It's… not… a story I can tell you."

"…Okay," she responded, but quietly. Pulling the jacket over her head, she turned around so her back was facing him.

"…Hey."

"Yeah?"

"Did you ever have siblings? Or anyone that told you bedtime stories?" There was a silence.

"I was raised by wolves, Itachi. My… I guess 'brother' character, didn't think it would be safe for me where I was… born. And as you said, you know wolves. They don't tell stories."

"They sing."

"Yeah." Itachi studied Yani's back for a little while and eventually moved over to her, sitting on the edge of the bed.

"Once upon a time, in a land far, far away, there lived a beautiful princess and her faithful wolf…" He spun her a wonderful story, filled with everything he could remember being told in _his_ bedtime stories and added his own twists. But just before he reached the middle portion of the story, he stopped.

"And then what happened?" Her eyes were wide, waiting for the next part when he stopped talking.

"I'll tell you the rest tomorrow night. And every time I see you after that, I'll tell you a story." He gently touched her fingertips. "If you're going to kill yourself, you'll never know the rest of the story."

"That's oddly mean of you."

"It's mean of you to say you're going to kill yourself in front of me," he retorted softly.

She hugged her pillow.

"So I'm going to assume you've never felt like killing yourself." Once again, she turned her back on him. He didn't reply, covering her with the jacket instead. When he heard her breathing settle into deep breaths, he leaned closer to her and touched her face.

"I think of it everyday," he murmured, "every single day."


	12. Stubborn

Chapter 11

Yani bit back a scream as she woke up from her nightmare. As she tasted the sweet tang of her own blood in her mouth, she felt that Itachi was sleeping on a chair next to her bed. After carefully stretching, she jumped out of bed and landed on the floor without a sound. The jacket that she had been sleeping with was draped over Itachi's still form just as the grey dawn began to break.

The clangs of a pan woke him up from a restless sleep. As soon as he saw that the bed beside him was empty and he had the jacket, he made his way over to the kitchen.

"Whom are you cooking for?" He seated himself on the kitchen table and yawned.

"You," she responded, folding an omelet over, "but I'm hungry, too." When she turned to set the toast on the table, she found that the table was already set. When she looked at Itachi curiously, he just shrugged.

"I was a very good boy when I was little. I told you." Seeing the subdued look on Yani's face, he smiled and gestured for her to sit in the seat beside him. She slid the omelets on a plate and brought it over to him.

"So, did you sleep well?" he asked, after the plates had been set down. She put her head down in her arms and looked straight ahead.

"No, I had a nightmare," she responded quietly.

"Do you want to talk about it?" He sighed when she shook her head.

_It's because you weren't next to me when I slept_, she thought in her head. "Why didn't you sleep next to me; it looked uncomfortable on that chair"

He swirled the coffee in his cup before replying.

"I wanted to," he murmured, looking at the coffee, "I wanted to comfort you. Hold you until you felt safe again. Kiss you until every bad memory you had was replaced by a good one." Cracks ran up the side of the coffee cup as Itachi made an effort to control himself. But when he saw Yani, he laughed at her stiff expression. A dry laugh. "I'm kidding," he amended, taking a sip of coffee. "Well, I did want to sleep next to you, but I was afraid you would be scared." She turned her head in Itachi's direction. "I do look very similar to Sasuke."

"You don't." She disappeared into a room briefly and came back out with a sketchpad. "Look." As Itachi looked through the sketchpad, his eyes got wider.

"Is this your drawing notebook?" he asked, still flipping.

"No. That's the book I draw in when I have nightmares. That's why it's dated."

"Do these people show up in your nightmares?" As soon as she nodded, Itachi flipped to a picture of Sasuke.

"This is dated to over two months ago."

"I know. I started having nightmares about him then." He flipped through more pictures of Sasuke when abruptly, he ran into a picture of himself.

"…This was when I brought you back those color pencils, wasn't it?"

"Yes." She flipped back to Sasuke's picture. "See? You guys don't look alike." He examined the pictures. They were so realistic that he felt as if he was looking at a photograph.

"Do I scare you?" he asked quietly, flipping though more and more pictures of him and Sasuke. She nodded. "Why?"

"You smell different than other humans do. A wolf in sheep's clothing." Sighing he closed the book.

"I must smell very different if you're scared. And you must be very scared of me if I appear in nightmares," he said, with a touch of sadness. "But you draw very well," he added, smiling a little. "Could we draw together someday?" With that one sentence, Yani smiled fully, as brilliant as the sun breaking through the clouds.

"That would be nice."

"Kakashi-sensei!" Sakura shouted, "You have a gold rose hung on your door!" He and Naruto went outside.

"Wow, Sensei! You have a secret admirer!"

"Sure," Kakashi chuckled. He took the rose, looked into the forest, and headed back into the house.

"Get Yani to complete the mission with you." The shadowy form of Leader commanded. "Both of you seem to be spending a lot of time together, so you probably know her the best." Itachi bowed and disappeared.

When Yani heard a familiar whistle, she opened the door to her mansion. She felt her heart thumping strangely when she sensed Itachi standing in front of her with his gentle smile.

"Have you been well, birdie?" Scowling, she blushed and let him in. But when he smiled, she couldn't help but grin back. "Hey, do you want to go on a mission with me?"

"Sure!"

"I didn't even tell you what it was yet!"

"Anything is better than being stuck in his gigantic house alone." She bounded out the door, forcing Itachi to run to keep up with her.

"Okay, so this is the mission," Itachi finally managed to say when he stopped her. "A certain bureaucrat has not paid his debts back to us for killing off his competition. So we are to capture him alive and burn his house down."

"…Will there be children in the house?"

"Maybe. He has three sons and one daughter." Yani didn't think he had noticed the unsettled expression that flashed briefly across her face.

"…okay. Where's Kisame?"

"He was sick today." They started to move in the direction of the target's house and arrived in an hour.

"Ah, crap. Look at all those guard ninjas. He must have known we were coming. What a bother." Itachi ran his fingers through his hair. Suddenly, he glanced at Yani. "Why don't you try this one. I want to see what you can do." Crouching, Yani put her hand over the frost-covered ground. When she lifted it, there was a yellow dandelion, blooming as if it didn't care it was the middle of February. She put her hand over it again, and when she removed it this time, the dandelion was puffy and white. She picked it from the stem and blew the seeds away gently. Instead of scattering on the ground around her feet, the seeds floated to the courtyard where all the guards were keeping lookout. Yani mumbled something so softly that he could not hear it. But as soon as she did, all the guards collapsed in a snoring heap.

Only when they were halfway to the big house did Itachi realize there was a snake wrapped around Yani's shoulder.

"Ummm… Yani?"

"Yes, I know. His name is Petey." The snake faced him with a cold, swaying smile. Itachi deftly jumped and landed on a balcony next to a glass sliding door.

"It the person in the room him?"

"Yes."

"Open the door just a bit." Itachi did as he was told, and Yani slipped Petey into the room. In a second, the man in the room clutched his leg and fell off his chair. Quickly, the pair moved into the door. Itachi bound and gagged their target while Yani put Petey gently in a tree.

"I hope this poison doesn't kill him."

"It just paralysis people and knocks them unconscious." Itachi rolled the man over and started to tie his wrists.

"I'm almost done, can you set the fire?" When he had finished, he looked up to find Yani just staring at the doorway leading deeper into the house. The sound of children's voices floated up from the stairway.

"Yani?" She shook her head and pulled out a combustion tag.

"I'm sorry, I just—" Itachi took the tag from her and instead, placed an explosive tag on the stairway. He pulled Yani away from the stairway. "But if you do that they'll hear—" A deafening roar shook the entire house as Itachi held Yani tightly in his arms and buried his nose in her hair. Even if it was for a split second, Yani clutched Itachi's jacket and closing her eyes, let herself be held by that warm body. He gently disengaged himself from her clenching fingers and threw the man over his shoulders.

"It's a fire! Everybody run!" After shouting into the stairway, he brushed his fingertips over Yani's, beckoning for her to follow him.

After running for a couple of minutes, Itachi quickly dumped the bureaucrat on the drop off point and caught Yani in midair, who yelped. Then, carrying her like a child, he tried to put as much distance he could between the smoking ruins of the house and themselves before dark arrived. When he finally tumbled to the ground, they were at their meadow, the stars shining clearly above them. Yani scowled when she heard Itachi breathing hard.

"You didn't have to run that fast." She scowled even more vehemently when he didn't respond. Itachi almost stopped breathing when he felt a light hand on his chest. "But you know, you're a really good person. All the people in that house probably escaped alive."

"I'm not a good person," came his muffled reply.

"Well, you spared your brother," she started to count off on her fingers, "you bought me new color pencils, took care of me when I was sick—" Suddenly she found herself pinned to the ground, Itachi a tower of rage over her.

"I am **not**—" he tightened his hands on her wrist, making her wince, "a good person."

"Ow, Itachi, it hurts—"

"Listen to me!" Yani fell silent. "I killed them, Yani. I killed them all. And my mother cried out for me when she died._ For me._ I still killed her."

"But—" He swept her arms over her head, holding them in place with one hand. With the other hand, he roughly tilted Yani's chin up.

"_If I raped you right now, would I be a bad person then?_" Defiantly compassionate eyes stared back at him, without a trace of fear.

"No," she said softly. He held her gaze for a second and then broke away, letting go of her wrists.

"I am not a good person. The reason behind the terrible things I did doesn't matter. What matters, is that I did them. What matters, is that I took away my brother's childhood from him. What matters, is that I killed every person that had ever loved me. What matters," he put his head in his arms, "is that I have to keep doing these terrible things so I can keep up this façade." There was a silence and Itachi was sure Yani was disgusted with him. So when two hands folded around one of his hands, trying to warm it with her cold hands, Itachi's eyes flickered to Yani.

"You know what it means when you have cold hands?" She smiled and put his hand to her cheek. "It means you have a warm heart." He laughed in shock putting both his hands to his face.

"I have _never_ met a girl like you. Ever." Then, he smiled and took both of Yani's hands and put them on his chest, underneath his jacket. "But I guess it's a good thing to have a warm heart, right?" Itachi pulled her to him, holding her, one hand on the back of her head, the other arm wrapped around her waist, waiting for her to pull away.

She didn't.


	13. Aesthetic Disappearance

Chapter 12

A pouch of golden sand gently moved to the rocking of a breeze in front of Kakashi's door.

"Perfect!" Yani said, seeing if the pouch was aesthetically pleasing. It was. She skittered across the lake, almost as if she were a skipping stone, and bounded to her own meadow, singing a nonsense song. "Oh, Starfish!" she sang. "What are you doing on the ground? Shouldn't you be deep in the turquoise sea?" She was usually happy on the days she knew Itachi was going to visit. He told her stories, true to his promise, every time he saw her. "Swirling with the fishes on the sand." He kept the nightmares away. "Oh, Starfish! You should not be here, dying in my hand. "She heard a familiar whistle. "Itachi!" She tackled him, but her slight weight only shook his lean frame and did nothing to knock him to the ground, which was her purpose.

Usually, he responded with a comment on her height and her lack of ability to knock him over. Today, he said nothing. Even though a twinge of uneasiness shook her, she pretended not to notice and pulled him over to a gigantic tree growing on the outskirts of the clearing.

"So you know how you said I could never make a tree out of the apple seed you gave me?" She gestured triumphantly in the direction of the massive branches reaching towards the sky. "Well, hah!" Rifling through his pockets, she continued to talk. "I did grow it, so I win! I hope you brought the chocolate you bet me." When Itachi did not answer, she looked up. "Itachi? What's wrong?" The emotions that flickered across his face – sadness, desperation, pity, and… something else – made Yani take a step back, coming in contact with the rough bark of the tree. The quiet ninja reached into his pocket and pulled out a container.

The words tumbled out before she could stop them.

"Please don't rape me!" At this, sadness and that 'something else' emotion grew on Itachi's face. He brushed away the tears of fear that were trailing down her face. And with the same gentle motion he took out the chocolate from the container and held it to her lips.

"Ahhh…" he finally said and Yani compied him, opening her mouth. Even when she felt the chocolate laced with a chemical, she did not stop chewing. "Don't worry," he said, wiping more tears that slid from her pink, frightened eyes, "it's a truth drug. It'll wear off in a few minutes. I just needed to know something. "He waited until she finished the chocolate. "Yani, have you fallen in love with me?" When she didn't answer, he pulled her body against his and tilted up her head so that their mouths were centimeters from each other. "Yani." His voice because quiet, almost a murmur. "Have you fallen in love with me?"

Slowly, she nodded. After a few seconds, Itachi pulled her into a gentle hug.

"I see," he stated simply, holding her quaking frame to him. He ran one hand through her hair until she gradually stopped shaking.

The whisper was soft and sweet, directed to the top of her head.

"Please don't love me anymore."

And with that, Itachi Uchiha disappeared.


	14. Readers' Fury

Chapter 13

Spring melted into summer, and summer into the beginning of fall.

The gifts stopped appearing in front of Kakashi's door, making Kakashi worry. At least she wasn't dead. He hadn't heard the wolves howling the death song. She couldn't be dead. But still, for her to break a promise, that meant she was doing something important.

She was searching. Searching with an unsmiling mouth. Searching with pitch-black, dead eyes. Searching without having eaten in days. Still searching.


	15. Listen, Keeper of the Wild

Chapter 14

Sasuke Uchiha stood panting in front of the lifeless form of his brother. He had won. _**He had won.**_ So why did he feel like crying. He turned around, trying to feel the elation he thought he was going to feel at the moment of his revenge. He didn't hear the soft padding of bare feet next to Itachi. Nor did he hear the rustle of clothes as Itachi was slung over a shoulder. When he did look back, he glimpsed a slight figure, tottering under the weight of his older brother, disappear.

When Itachi felt himself being picked up, he was confused. Sasuke could easily sling him over his shoulder, but this person seemed like he or she was struggling. He also felt he was closer to the ground than he should have been. Still, he continued to pretend he was dead. It was easy. He just let his fatigue wash over him and the sickness he had suppressed with drugs for the past five years catch up with him. The hardest part was not coughing, but that was easy managed. He didn't have the strength to cough anymore. The person would get tired of carrying him sooner or later. Maybe he would be buried. He would just dig out of the shallow grave as soon as he was alone. It was no big deal. And then, he could work out his plan from there. His plan, to die at his brother's feet, had worked so far. It would have to work until the end.

He felt the person that was carrying him teleport somewhere and then gently lay him on the grass. Although his nose was overpowered by the scent of his own blood, he caught the scent of rain. Sure enough, it started to pour soon afterwards, bringing the scent of mint from the forest. He felt a gentle hand brushing his face. The person was probably a girl, then, taking pity on a dead man.

"Itachi?"

If he had been breathing, he would have stopped at that moment.

"Itachi?" the familiar voice called again. He didn't respond. He needed to convince her that he was dead.

"I know you're alive." Her response rattled him more than crying would have. He continued to lie on the ground, as if dead. A moment passed and he felt a cold hand slip into his own.

"I'll wait Itachi."

Day eased into night, but for Yani, the waiting game was nothing compared to the last months. She had found him. That was all that mattered. And if she needed to, she would wait forever.

As the hours passed, she never moved from her position. When she slept, she would relax in the position she was, her legs drawn up, and her head on her knees, her cold hand holding Itachi's equally cold hand. When she woke up, she would merely roll her shoulders, and continue waiting. But Itachi was aware that she wasn't eating, wasn't drinking, and was shivering violently.

Finally, on the morning of the third day, while Yani was shivering while sleeping, he picked her up gently and held her to him, working out the stiffness in her fingers. Her eyelids fluttered open, letting her green eyes focus on Itachi's neutral face. But the neutral-ness disappeared when she snuggled into his neck and smiled.

"See? You weren't dead." He didn't answer, but in his chest, next to the tearing pain of his mangled lungs and heart, he felt a completeness he hadn't felt in awhile. After he was done with her hands, she pulled away and turned, kneeling in front of him. "So?"

He laughed. The laugh turned into a cough, a terrible cough, one that sent blood pouring out of his mouth in quickened spurts with pieces of lung tissue mixed in. When Yani reached to heal is throat he pushed her hand away, coughing until he was done.

"Tell me your story, child." He shook his head.

"I'm not letting you perform the ritual on me." His voice was barely more than a rasp, but his smile was content. He brushed back her hair, clumsily.

"You can't see anymore, can you?"

"Barely. Just blotches of color." Yani inched closer.

"Tell me your story, child." She spoke again before he could respond. "Not for the ritual. Just the story. Just for the hell of it."

"It's a really long story." She smiled and inched closer.

"I have time."

He did his laughing cough again, this time ending with a beginning of a story. His story. The sun passed overhead as he told his life from the beginning, slowly, with many coughing fits to interrupt the flow. But she understood. She understood how he had been a child genius, youngest to join the ANBU, youngest to rise to such a high position so quickly. She understood the orders he received one night from the Hokage, to kill his entire village, which was threatening a coup d'état. She understood when he described his girlfriend's, whom he had hoped to marry, last moments as he held her in his arms, how she bled out slowly, happy that Itachi was with her. And most of all, she understood how, no matter how many other people he had killed, he could not kill his only brother, Sasuke, and that he had pushed his brother to hate him as retribution for his killing, how he wished that one day, he would die at his brother's feet. She understood.

"Then, when I was twenty-one," he continued, his breath gurgling, "I met a man in the deepest part of the woods next to the village." He chuckled darkly, which made him cough. "Well, not a man, I supposed. But he pointed a finger at me and said, "Take up thy heritage, my darkness, my son." I fainted after that, but when I woke up, he was gone." He looked at his hands, flexing his fingers. "It took me a while to figure out that it was really hard for me to die." Hearing a sharp intake of breath, he smiled at Yani. "I suppose you know then?" She nodded, eyes-wide.

"Son of Hades." He covered his eyes with the heel of his hands and took a deep breath.

"My first thought was "This is great. I know I won't die until I complete my mission. Until I can die at my brother's feet. I don't even have to breathe anymore." Later, much later, I realized why I had no use for my lungs. That was when I started to cough them up. I didn't know there was going to be pain until then."

"Eternal suffering." Itachi nodded and silence lapsed. He looked up when her fingers pulled a hand away from his face. "How long?"

"Five years," he answered without hesitation. There was another silence.

"Can you—" Both of them stopped when they realized they had spoken at the same time. Itachi smiled a hint of his old smile, "After you, my lady." Yani blushed, making Itachi raise his eyebrows.

"Can you…?" Yani drew up her knees looked sideways, towards the ground, embarrassed. Itachi couldn't help but cup a hand around her face, drawing her to her knees.

"Can I what?" he murmured, passing his thumb over her lips, which, once again, stained her cheeks red. She took a deep breath and looked at him straight in the eye, putting one of her hands on the large hand caressing her face. "Can you stay with me forever?" She lost her courage and broke eye contact. "Please?"

"No!" His exclamation made him cough again, the worst one so far, and he couldn't stop coughing until a couple minutes had passed. When he looked up, he saw Yani's eyes as black as obsidian. "Songbird, it's not that—"

"No, it's okay." Yani laughed shakily, "I've never been rejected before, that's it. But it's fine. It's because it hurts so much, right? You have no time to think about my silly—"

"Listen to me!" Yani stopped rambling. "Yani, yes, it hurts, but that's not the reason. The reason is that," his voice became quiet, "you have a chosen mate, right?"

"How did you—"

"I guessed from bits and pieces Kakashi told me. But the point is, I can't just sit back and watch you get married." His voice rose. "I'm sorry for being selfish, but I don't want to stick around and stay with you forever, just to see something I love taken away from me by the gods. Which is why I wanted to ask you, can you kill me? I… I don't think I can kill myself, but… but you're a god, right? So you can…" he trailed off when he saw Yani's eyes change to a hazel color. "What..."

"Did you say you loved me?"

And for the first time in his life, Itachi reddened. But when he nodded, Yani's eyes changed to a color he had never seen before. Stillness fell over the two facing each other.

"Why are we like awkward teenagers?" At that, Yani laughed, inching closer to Itachi again.

"You said that you could see colors, right Itachi?" When he nodded, her voice grew quiet. "Itachi, what color are my eyes?" He was puzzled, but somehow, he sensed how important the question was.

"I've never seen them with that color before. They're gold aren't they?" Itachi laughed weakly. "You must love me a lot, little bird."

Time stopped around them. Three raspy voices filled the clearing, speaking in unison, while Greek letters flashed in long, unbroken streaks in their little sphere. Itachi held Yani to him, protecting her, but she was strangely calm.

"Shhh…" she said, "listen."

"Listen, Keeper of the Wild

Right now, you are but a child

But engaged to marry, we decree

Who we think will best keep thee

He'll hate the song you sing at night

Take away your nightmared fright

If he cannot have you, he shall not cry

But rather choose, himself, to die

And though your wolves have lofty whims

They will all bow down to him

But most of all he'll know your blood

And eyes are gold when you're in love."

Time restarted again, and the forest slowly grew dark as the sun sank under the horizon. Yani turned to him with a grin.

"So can I marry you now?" He was too shocked to respond. His mind couldn't comprehend the fact that his little bird was really _**his**_. When he didn't respond, Yani got on her knees and leaned in so that her foreheads were touching. She licked the blood from the corner of his mouth. "Please?" He could feel the warmth radiate off her lips. He nodded dumbly, still too stunned to speak.

The earth shook slightly.

"Yes, yes." A dry voice said, one that seemed to resonate beneath the ground. "You may now fucking kiss the bride. Get on with it, son. You take way too long." And with those unceremonious words from the under-worldly priest, he leaned up and kissed her gently. And at that moment, he felt a cool sensation spread down through his body, starting from the top of his head. When it reached his eyes, he felt the coolness pool in his eye sockets, as it did when it reached his throat and lungs. But he was so enraptured by the taste of mint and chocolate, that he didn't take any notice of it. He licked her lips and slid his tongue into her mouth, easily dominating her and intensifying the taste.

But when they broke apart for air, Itachi noticed that his chest didn't hurt anymore. When he looked at Yani, her clear, distinct gold eyes startled him.

"Is it working?" Yani asked. "Hades said I could—" She was interrupted by another kiss, fiercer than the last one.

"Shhh…" he whispered against her lips, "Let me just look at you." He held her at arms length, his eyes slowly traveling over the lines of her body he had only known by touch. Yani blushed but didn't move out of his grasp. He brought his mouth to hers again. Gentler. Quieter. Stopping for a breath, his mouth skimmed over her collarbone, her jaw, and returned to her mouth. "Mine." He said against her lips. Then as a question. "Mine?"

"Yours." She responded, smiling, pressing her lips to his eyelids. "Both sides are yours. Everything is yours."

"Okay." Her tongue flickered to the tear running down his face. "It doesn't hurt anymore."

"I know. I don't hurt anymore either. I finally found you." She was crying.

"Okay," he said, "okay."


	16. Memory I

This is the end of our story.  
Well, it is the end and isn't the end.  
I have snapshots of memories in my head, images of him laughing. In one, he laughs as I try to steal the feather of a bird from him. In another, he sings to me as I wake from a nightmare.  
The years pass.  
There are the profound memories, too.  
I remember the day I said goodbye to Kakashi. I remember the ground is dusty. The rain hasn't fallen in a long time. Next to me, Kenshin limps, as his arthritic joints complain. He looks up at me with his sky-blue eyes and I wrap a hand into his fur, smiling. And next to him, is his son Shinko, a young pup that looks like a smaller version of his father. His son is proud to be chosen for this mission.  
And in my other hand is Itachi's, ever reassuring, ever warm.  
Suddenly, a small girl runs to me.  
"Puppy!" she shrieks. When Shinko tumbles her on the ground, the girl does not cry, but laughs, her hair as silver as her father's.  
I can see him in the distance. His eyes are wide, but I hope he does not cry. I hope he is happy enough so that he will not cry.  
I will not approach him. When my presents stopped, I think he believed I was dead.  
I will not approach him.  
Instead, I kneel in front of his daughter.  
"What's your name?" I ask.  
"Engetsu," she replies, happily hugging Shinko, "it means Crescent Moon."  
I am pleased.  
"This old wolf here is for your father." I pat Kenshin's rump when he grunts haughtily. "I put him into retirement, because he continued to chase me up trees. And this is his son, Shinko. He is full wolf, as his father. Because you are the moon, they will be loyal to you."  
She accepts my presents with pleasure. She scampers back to her father, with Shinko next to her. Kenshin slowly walks after her, but halfway, he turns.  
I know he is reluctant to leave me.  
"This is not goodbye, my friend," I whisper.  
He whines.  
"You know I will take good care of her," Itachi says next to me, "It is in my blood."  
These words seem to satisfy him. He walks again and when he reaches Kakashi's feet, he thumps down and sighs tiredly and does not move when Kakashi reaches down to scratch behind his ears.  
"Why are you crying, daddy?"  
Yes, he is crying. But they are not tears of sadness, as I expected him to be.  
We smile at each other.  
"Why are you crying, daddy?"  
"Daddy got dirt in his eye. Let's go inside now, I think Mommy is waiting to be introduced to Shinko and his old man."  
In the wind, I think I hear his voice.  
"Goodbye, my love," he says.  
But of this, I am not sure.


	17. Memory II

p style="margin: 20px 0px; font-family:  
Arial, Helvetica, Trebuchet, sans-serif; line-height: 18px;  
text-align: justify;"At first, it was just the cough that came back. Then, like a regular cold, it was intermittent bouts of fever. Illness was rare to us, we, who watched the village plunge into war and then the peace of alliance. We, who sat through generations of wolves howling forward and backward into time. We, who never aged. We, who woke up to each other and slept with each other's names on our lips and hands tangled in each other's hair. /p 


End file.
